Press Releases

It’s one of the moments in Australian history that every Australian will remember where they were and what they were doing. The world lost a great man when Steve passed in September of 2006. It was especially personal for the people of the Sunshine Coast as we had all grown up with this crazy bloke and watched him and his family progress from their modest beginnings to the worldwide phenomenon,” The Croc Hunter”.

As a local living abroad I wanted to pay tribute to Steve and being an artist, decided to paint a mural on the side of my truck. I felt the need to do more and embarked on a project that would lead to one of those once in a lifetime

moments. After pouring through hundreds of pictures I finally arrived at an image of Steve which I thought was typical of this man who put all he had into conservation and enjoyed every minute of his life.

Work began on the portrait and there was no sparing the details, I wanted to show the true character we all grew to know and after about 8 weeks of putting brush to canvas I finally arrived at a portrait  that I felt  represented  the man and his  work.

The painting went on display for a month at Strathmore Mansion in Bethesda, Maryland before it made the long journey to the Australia Zoo. The story was featured on the front page of the Washington Post Style section.

The canvas was sent to a local frame shop not far from the Australia Zoo and soon after we found ourselves traveling to Australia to personally deliver it to the rightful owners. Once we landed in Australia we met with the framer and we agreed on a frame.

After catching up with family and friends it was time to introduce the painting. ABC radio invited me in for an interview then it was back to the frame shop for an interview with WIN TV news which can be seen on the video link.

Then after months of planning it came down to the final presentation at Australia Zoo. To say I was a little nervous would be an understatement, it was determined that the portrait would be presented at the Crocoseum in front of a couple of thousand people. This was a very humbling experience as this was the  very same  place that  Steve made famous with his daily crocodile feeding shows and also where his final memorial was held, it was a day I will never forget. The painting will become part of a permanent memorial section at Australia Zoo in the upcoming months.