GOLD COAST

ARTWORK

BURLEIGH HILL | PINK POODLE | PLAYROOM | KIRRA | MAGIC MOUNTAIN | MIAMI ICE | GRUNDY’S

The Gold Coast series of landmarks was never really planned, and I was doing something drastically different at the time - Portraits and Surrealism.

It was born however out of the obsession with remembering the place I spent every childhood holiday at, and the subsequent image search that followed. I’m now lucky enough to call this place home, so it feels like a kind of legacy to bring back some of the old coast in my own way, for everyone who has a memory of how it used to be, or who just wants to take a part of the current coast away with them.

The older I get, the more i’m understanding the need to remember my roots, the place I grew up in and in this case, the place I’ve always felt a deep connection to.

BURLEIGH HILL

One place that I feel very much connected to, is Burleigh Headland National Park (Burleigh Hill). I often walk the circuit barefoot and take photos, spot wildlife (sometimes you can see whales when the season is right), and generally just connect to nature.

This image was created after a particular walk, and from a combination of photos I took that afternoon.

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

PINK POODLE

I never stayed here but always remember driving past it, half asleep and slightly sick in the backseat after the Pirate ship / Corkscrew / Seaworld lunch combo.

It was hard not to notice the neon sign and the soft golden glow from behind the arches.

Today there’s a restaurant where it was, but the arches and the Pink Poodle text sign are still in place. The Neon Poodle sign has been moved back slightly but is also still there.

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

The Playroom

I never got a chance to go here as I was living a parallel life in Sydney, seeing bands on the same tours as the playroom but different venues. By the time I was living in QLD and first learned about it, it was already knocked down.

If you’re reading this and have any high quality shots of inside the venue, i’d love to see them!

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

KIRRA

Every year my family would make the road trip from Sydney and stay anywhere between Coolangatta and Bilinga.

This eagle sculpture is one of my greatest memories of those trips, and was the landmark that really confirmed I was on the coast. I used to visit my local Pizza Hut in North Rocks for Tuesday night all-you-can-eat (for $5!), but never made it to this one.

I used multiple references for this one as I couldn’t find one with the exact angles and detail I was looking for.

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

MAGIC MOUNTAIN

This is one place I remember well, although I never got a chance to go in. Every time we got our keys to the holiday hotel (beach shack might be a better description) I got a brochure from the stand advertising things to do, places to eat etc on the coast. Magic Mountain was always in there, but we always ended up at Dreamworld or Sea World, and now i’m older I get why.

Still, I would have loved to have been there just once…

I chose the sandy sky background and more of a silhouette because that’s how I remember driving past it, with a sandstorm happening and colouring the sky orange. 

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

MIAMI ICE

I’ve heard quite a bit about Miami Ice but only remember it because of the name (growing up in the era of Miami Vice), and who could forget John Farnham music video?

In all seriousness though, I know this one’s a special place for the family, so I had to include it. 

As for the truck, i’ve only ever seen one photo of it, but added it as a point of interest. Do you remember seeing it around?

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

GRUNDY’S

I regret to say I never went on these slides…but I remember the the games inside very well as we went there a number of times - dodgems, shooting gallery, slowly pulling extra tickets out of the machines. 

The main reference for this was from a postcard, which I also sampled the colours from to use in the artwork. 

PRINTS AVAILABLE A4 - A0

I’m always on the lookout for reference photos from the 50’s - 90’s.

Do you have any you’d like to share?