This page follows Wolfgang on his adventures. See how he gets the inspiration to keep painting. If you click on highlighted words you will be taken to Wolfgang's paintings that relate to the place. You will meet characters from the heart of Australia, visitors from the "Big smoke" and travellers from further afield. In time we will look at Wolfie's life to find out what brought him to Australia from his homeland of Germany, and how he's come to be in Birdsville.
From the Simpson Desert to the high country of the Snowy Mountains, there's never a dull moment painting with Wolfie!
Wolfie is often alone in the Simpson during the summer months. His air-con broke down at home in Birdsville and he thought,"Oh well, may as well go play in the desert...". Here he is the first after months to travel the track.
Photos by Wolfgang John 2006
Wolfie sailing at his favourite waterhole - Andrewilla, about 75km south of Birdsville on the Diamantina river.
Photo by Karsten John 2005
The Australian governor general, Sir Michael Geoffreys, arrived in Birdsville on the 13th May 2006 and stayed overnight, however with the inside Birdsville Track being closed only a matter of days ago, the hoped for sail on Andrewilla had to be cancelled.
At the end of May one of Wolfie's fans, Bill Handley, arrived by helicopter from Sydney to play in the desert. He very kindly took Wolfgang and Indigo on a great flight down to Old Alton Downs via Andrewilla. In early June Wolfie's mate Dylan took a break from running the Mallala Hotel just north of Adelaide and they met up in Innamincka. A hard weekend was had.
Wolfgang's sister Karin arrived in early July with her husband Gunther. Gunther's son Nico had worked at the Birdsville Hotel in 2003, but this was Gunther's first trip to Australia.
After Christmas with the family and some days hiking in the Snowy Mountains, Wolfgang was all set to return to Birdsville when the rains came, bringing flooding to much of inland Australia. So, with time on his hands he set to work painting the South-East coast of N.S.W. An impromptu Art Show at Narooma Golf Club from the 23rd - 25th February 2007 followed, titled Beach, Rocks and Beyond. A fun weekend was had by all that attended, the show featuring work of the Snowy Mountains, the mountains around Narooma and plenty of dramatic work of the ocean and rocky headlands.
With our intention of opening a new gallery cafe in Narooma, this was a nice introduction to the area.
Wolfgang returned to Birdsville with Gerd Puhlman, a German documentary director/producer, who is putting together a story on Leichhardt.
2007 started busily, with a big Easter weekend. Wolfgang managed to sneak off for some good sailing with his mate John Crawford from the Middle Harbour Yacht Squadron. John brought another laser up, so now the Birdsville Yacht Squadron consists of three lasers! On the weekend of 28/29 April 2007 Wolfgang conducted an art class focusing on composition. This was held in Quilpie. If you are interested in any future Wolfgang John art classes, please contact us.
Over the summer he managed to squeeze in some hiking up in the high country, along with some diving on the N.S.W. south coast.
During May and June 2008 Wolfgang held an exhibition in Quilpie along with Lyn Barnes, entitled "Once Upon a Time in the West". Opened by local station owner Duncan Watts, the exhibition was held at the Quilpie information centre.
On Friday August 1st Wolfgang's "My Desert Home" exhibition opened at the Mallala Hotel South Australia (just outside Adelaide). This show ran until the 17th August, featuring all his latest desert work.
Karsten has now opened The Purple Possum gallery/cafe/book, music and art supply shop in Narooma NSW. It is open daily from 10am to 5pm (longer in summer. Of course it features Wolfgang's diverse Australian watercolours, including his desert, snow and coastal work, along with other local artists from the area. Our website will be upgraded shortly to reflect these changes.
The Big Red Cafe is now closed, but the Blue Poles Gallery remains open, so why not drop in and say "G'day" to Wolfgang if you're visiting Birdsville, and check out some of his amazing artwork. If the door's closed at the gallery, just knock on the house next door and he'll happily open up.
Also don't miss Wolfgang's up coming exhibition at the Innamincka Hotel over the Innamincka Races weekend, Friday 28th August - Sunday 30th August. If you're heading to the Birdsville Races be sure to drop in on the way for a gander.
Wolfgang looks forward to seeing you soon, and Karsten & Jackie look forward to seeing you all in Narooma!
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