Archives: Essays

Essay by Luke Foster “We cannot tell what may happen to us in the strange medley of life. But we can decide what happens in us — -how we can take it, what we do with it —- and that is what really counts in the end.” —- Joseph Fort Newton I am just trying to figure […]

Essay by Luke Foster “So, what do I really know about being a grandmother? Well, I remember what I didn’t like as a child. I also loved being a mom, but I have to tell you that being a grandmother has brought a whole new side of life—the fun side—to me.” —Janet Steele I don’t […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”—John Wayne. EMTs and paramedics have difficult and dangerous jobs. They know the risks, and yet every day, they prepare for the challenge, load up their gear, and race out to the next emergency. This is the courage that makes them real […]

Essay by Luke Foster “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” Edward de Bono I have known Claire and Sean since art school days in the nineties studying in the medium of […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Let’s build bridges, not walls.” Martin Luther king Jr My brother got 99 for his HSC TER in high school and the university medal as top student at the University of NSW in civil engineering. In other words, he’s a smart cookie. His first job out of university was drilling core […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Whether one is rich or poor, educated, or illiterate, religious, or non-believing, man, or woman, black, white, or brown, we are all the same. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, we are all equal. We all share basic needs for food, shelter, safety, and love. We all aspire to happiness, and we all […]

Essay by Luke Foster “No, I’m not a vegetarian. I do eat that way. I actually eat vegan quite a lot. I feel better when I eat that way, and I think there’s been a lot of proof that’s come up over the last however many years, that you can’t deny, I don’t think, that […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquillity and happiness we all seek.” “Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” “Compassion naturally creates a positive atmosphere, and as a result, you feel peaceful and content.” “Love and compassion are the true religions to me.” Dalai […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Having an open mind means learning to add more to our already existing beliefs about affirming dignity of those who are impoverished.” — Terence Lester, I See You While I was in New York in December 2022 I discovered there was a fantastic system where hundreds of cafes in the city had fridges outside […]

Essay by Luke Foster “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” Edward De Bono I went to the Museum of Contemporary of Art in Sydney today with my friend Birdie and had […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Home was never a dream for homeless people as they used to have their homes. Living in a home was their reality. Now we need to help them to find the lost reality – again.” – Munia Khan I caught a train from Casino to Sydney overnight with my friend Birdie […]

Essay by Luke Foster “I’ve always had a determination to perfect whatever I’m doing. If I can’t do something, I work on it until I figure it out.” Stephanie Gilmore I was beach walking this morning and saw a woman pro surfer on the beach, but I am not sure who it was and only […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Become totally emptyQuiet the restlessness of the mindOnly then will you witness everything unfolding from emptiness.”-Lao Tzu I have been racking my brain while beach walking in the morning the last few days trying to think of something to write about rather than letting it come to me naturally. However, I […]

Essay by Luke Foster “I guess I’m quite used to not being understood rather than being understood.” Bjork I have been getting back into video art in the last few years and I mainly perform for the camera and get my videographer/ photographer friend Julie Lowe to document it for me. Last night I watched […]

Essay by Luke Foster “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.”  Mother Teresa I have travelled quite a bit internationally and the common thread […]

Essay by Luke Foster “We should consider asking our fellow Australians something as simple as ‘Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?’” Albanese said in a landmark speech at the Garma Festival in Arnhem Land on Saturday. I feel its one thing to change the constitution […]

Essay by Luke Foster “When I was younger, I could eat whatever I wanted, as long as I exercised; or if I didn’t exercise and just watched what I ate, I’d maintain. Well, now I have to do both … I try to tell young people to get in shape now, because it’s easier. If you’re […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Gathering your own reference materials, sketches and using your own imagination is going to help you grow as an artist far more than stealing someone else’s work.” ― Bonnie Hamlin My artist friend Sean Cordeiro said that you’re not a real artist until you have an artwork stolen. Sean had a large Astro […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Unknown indigenous author Perhaps it’s a little strange for a white Australian to talk about Aboriginal issues but I have some ideas on the subject. While studying Aboriginal culture at school we only studied about the ancient hunting and gathering lifestyle of […]

Essay by Luke Foster “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”Pablo Picasso The first coffee table artist book I bought was about the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and like the […]

Essay by Luke Foster “I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.” J. D. Salinger I think I am up to the fifth or sixth time of proofreading my book Mother’s Love. The more I look the more I see that needs changing and now I […]

Essay by Luke Foster “One day we will remember how lucky we were to have known their love, with wonder, not grief.” Elizabeth Postle Since mums passing, I have thrown myself into my art and writing to cope with the great loss as I feel I have never known such powerful and pure love since […]

Essay by Luke Foster “He who strays from tradition becomes asacrifice to the extraordinary; he who remains in tradition is itsslave. Destruction follows in any case.” Friedrich Nietzsche Not much of my early artwork from art school or soon after has survived however as seen on my website I had proficient photographer friends to document […]

One of my favourite artworks by Katthy was a story of a girl performance installation at Art Space in Sydney. “Story of a girl is a work that attempts to make present what has been experienced abstractly, exploring issues of self-documentation and personal history. I have assembled on the gallery floor an extensive collection of personal […]

Essay by Luke Foster “It’s bad to use words like ‘genius’ unless you are talking about the late Jean-Michel Basquiat, the black Chatterton of the 80s who, during a picturesque career as sexual hustler, addict, and juvenile art-star, made a superficial mark on the cultural surface by folding the conventions of street graffiti into those […]