Page 21 - Port Douglas Magazine 33

teph is an Australian artist, illustrator and graphic designer
Sthey have created SEA Gallery.
PHOTO CREDIT: Port Studios
“Stop resisting the circumstances which you
have no control over. Focus on whatever you
can do and do have control over instead.
Learn to work with the flow of life.”
- AKIROQ BROST
and Dave is a photographer (underwater and weddings)
with a sharp business and technical background. Together
As you enter the Gallery the walls are lined with a mixture of
Steph’s beautifully whimsical watercolour paintings depicting
whales, turtles and local scenes alongside Dave’s stunning shots of
underwater turtles and dramatic portraits of Priscilla, the black
cockatoo. It doesn’t take a Holmes’ like mind to work out that
they both are inspired by nature (hence the Gallery name) and
sights of Port Douglas, above the ground and under the water.
It’s less of a gallery or shop but more of a space filled with love,
ingenuity, talent and an energy that invites you in and disarms
you. However, you quickly get the feeling that Steph and Dave
get as much out of meeting visitors as the visitors do from their
artworks. The large painting of St. Mary’s Church triggers many
people to recount nostalgically about their wedding under its
portals and from these stories Steph says she often finds new
sources of inspiration.
From the SEA Gallery’s opening in April 2021, it sounds like they
have hit the canvas running and have hardly come up for air.
On recounting the ‘how it all came together’ one can really believe
that this is an unwinding journey of two people who not only
found love for each other, but started a journey developing their
creative (and business) sides. Their course found them navigating
their lives in different continents, with the wind and the flow of
life leading them ultimately to the shores of Port Douglas. Maybe
the name of their gallery is also referring to the ‘Sea’ in Seachange.
Steph originally studied law, international relations and then
events management with a childhood split between the UK and
Australia (Geelong), international relations was certainly a good
start. Her family were creative (both were in design), and Steph
used art whilst studying at university to escape and unwind. It
was only later by studying Graphic Design that the orientation
needle on her compass of life swung nearer to her true coordinates.
On a university working holiday in Portugal, she met Dave (from
Sydney). Two people from the other end of the world meeting at
the other end of the world. After a brief sojourn in Portugal, they
found themselves living in Somerset UK. The strings of destiny
played their tune when Dave was offered the job as Bar Manager
at Sheraton Port Douglas eight years ago (the years working in
hospitality when he was at university paid off).
It was in Port Douglas with their combined love of diving and
immersing themselves in the beauty of their surroundings that
their roots grew.
While working in hospitality Steph continued to paint. Their
small apartment was beginning to resemble a storeroom at the
Louvre and canvases became stacked on canvases.
PORT DOUGLAS MAGAZINE 21