Fiona Bastow - Sandman (Dennis Massoud)

Oil on canvas
60 x 60cm

This is a painting of Dennis Massoud, otherwise known as 'Sandman'. Locals of Noosa know him as a long-term environmental activist as well as a world champion sand sculptor whose whimsical sand creations are a part of the Noosa beach psyche. I chose to paint Dennis, my neighbour, as his younger self as I'm in awe of his endless vitality and enthusiasm for life, and suspect he still feels this age.