Bud Stephenson - artist: Ron views the work of this Mid North region artist
Welcome to Black Rock - a railway siding on the old line between Peterborough and Ororroo. Up until 2004 the line was still in use for rail enthusiasts who took the tourist train from Steam Town to this sleepy little outpost. Back then it gave rail buffs the chance to travel back in time to an era when these steam powered beasts crisscrossed the State and the paymaster hopped on board the Dort Car to drop of wages to the railway gangs up the line.
Sadly, rising maintenance and insurance costs put an end to the tourist train but despite the ups and downs this little mid-north town, with it's church, institute hall, railway cottage and converted pub, just keeps on keeping on.
Black Rock is a town about twelve kilometres from Orroroo. And it's certainly seen its fair share of characters from roo shooters, rabbit trappers and shearers to another blow-in who came here following a storm in 1997. He was an ex Woollongong sign writer and a refugee from the Sydney club scene and he breathed new life into the old Black Rock Hotel.
Meet Bud Stephenson. You may remember him from a Postcards visit back in 2001, when he and wife Lana were then entertaining the Steam Town train buffs with their end of the line performances.
For Bud, the old pub provided much needed shelter while out cruising the South Australian countryside on holidays.
Bud Stephenson: "We sheltered on the porch during a storm and there was a tiny little for sale sign in the window. My wife and I both looked at each other and would you believe we were back living here in three months."
Soon they'd turned the abandoned pub into the Black Rock Coffee Palace. It became a 'must see' attraction for visitors and locals alike throughout the mid-north. But the life of a building will often change - along with the life of its owner. Now the Coffee Palace is gone and across the walls - where once menu boards took the visitor's eye - Bud's art work reigns supreme.
As a sign writer of 40 years experience - it's not surprising he has an eye for the quirky and the unusual as his holiday photos attest. Over time Bud felt the need to break free - with the vast landscape in which he lives - inspiring more abstract expression.
Bud Stephenson: "I'd been a sign writer since I was a kid and you sort of become constricted by perfect circles and angles. So to break these changes you need this freedom. I've always been inspired by Pollock, James Gleeson and Arthur Boyd and those sort of blokes and I thought it was about time that I threw off the chains."
Now he hurls himself into his work with splats of paint and big bold brush strokes and a new determination to dig deeper into the landscape around him. And while he's prepared for the occasional dig at his foray into abstract expressionism, Bud's works are selling nicely in the galleries of the east coast, which he left all those years ago.
Bud Stephenson's work is on show at the Black Rock Hotel on the Jamestown to Orroroo Road and t the Wilpena Pound Resort. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Bud Stephenson
Black Rock Hotel
Black Rock
On Jamestown to Orroroo Road
Also Wilpena Pound Resort
Contact 08 8651 6002Published 21st June 2009
