AFTER four People's Choice awards and one overall win at the Rochester Mural Festival, some would say Queensland artist Kerry Nicholson is a seasoned professional.
And while winning is certainly a bonus, Mr Nicholson said there was a lot more to it than that.
“This will be my sixth year competing at the festival,” he said.
“I do like winning, but it's also a chance to catch up with my fellow artists and keep that relationship going.”
For the past 45 years, he has been part of the art world and couldn't see himself doing anything else.
“Well I think I'm hopeless at everything else except art so I chose that as a career,” he said with a laugh.
“I used to work for movie companies like Warner Brothers, painted backdrops for the opening of the Queensland Convention Centre and now I have my own signwriting and mural business.”
In between all his work, Mr Nicholson has been travelling around the country, competing in mural and art competitions.
“I've been down to Sheffield in Tasmania about eight time, to Jamestown three or four times, the one in Queensland two or three times as well, and one in New Zealand a few times, so I've really been around and seen how a lot of those places work,” he said.
“Because I'm in that circuit of mural competitions, someone told me about the one in Rochester and I wanted to give it a crack.”
And over the past five years, Mr Nicholson has met some great people in Rochester, which keeps him coming back every year.
“It is great meeting all these artists, but the organisers are wonderful people,” he said.
“Artists can sometimes be a bit annoying, but the organisers are always there to give you a hand or help you wherever you need it.
“They're really amazing.”