It’s not often you see an Aussie legend casually strolling the streets of Roma on a Saturday morning, let alone giving one budding Mitchell artist a True-Blue moment of a lifetime.
Nineteen-year-old Blayk Mansfield still can’t wipe the smile off his face after country music superstar John Williamson, trying to go incognito in the Sculptures Out Back crowd, lobbed up, said ‘g’day mate’ and within minutes had offered to buy his sculpture, ‘Thumper’.
“It’s an incredible feeling. I definitely wasn’t expecting it, that’s for sure,” Blayk enthused.
John Williamson is renowned for his songs ‘True Blue’ and ‘Old Man Emu’ which are the backdrop of everyone’s childhood.
You hear his songs on ANZAC Day, Australia Day and the many road trips we undertake each year.
It is no wonder Blayk is so stoked by the purchase.
“The sculpture here today is actually the second one I made because the first one I made; I wasn’t happy with.
“I had to have many breaks when making it because I wouldn’t know where to put pieces and I really needed that fresh mind.”
Blayk comes from a family of winning sculpture artists with his father Kyle Mansfield winning the Roma on Bungil Gallery People’s Choice Prize for his sculpture ‘Many Miles’.
“I get my interest from my dad, and I get a lot of my ideas from him too.
“But having John Williamson buy my sculpture is to me more exciting than actually winning anything,” he enthused.
John Williamson, who was here for the Variety Bash, was a hard man to find among the sculptures and his scribbled-out name on his hat, however, he was kind enough to pose with some lucky artists on the day.
When speaking to John Williamson earlier in the afternoon he had his eye on Toowoomba artist Ryan Carnie’s ‘A Great Bunch’ so perhaps Ryan will be in for a commission from the Aussie icon sometime soon too.
