Introduction.
Some people would frown at having such a detailed biography but with so many faceless people, who are little more than nicknames, on the internet I hope you will find this page a refreshing change.
Generally I describe myself as an Artist but this tends to suggest only one aspect of my creativity. I have a creative interest in so many things. I write stories, poems, comedy, articles. I paint, draw, cartoon. I'm a graphic designer. I design and code web sites, program computers, create animation and multimedia presentations. Sometimes I'm a photographer, a model and a problem solver. Sometimes I invent things, design games, build stuff and manage people.
The point is that I'm a creative person. I don't put a limit on where I apply my creativity. You can't put me in a pigeon hole. I'd get bored if you did. It's just who I am.
![St. Albans Road Studio - [ Click for bigger version ]](./a_st_albans_rd_studio_apr2006_517pw.jpg "St. Albans Road Studio - [ Click for bigger version ]")
Quick links to information of interest:
How I got my nickname.
My real name is David Arandle. It is only online that I am known as The Extraordinary Tourist. Most people just call me TET. In chat rooms I use the nickname etourist or some variation of it (as occasionally it's taken).
In April of 1999 I needed a new nickname for a message board, forum style, chat site called 'Whispers'. I was hoping to meet new people and make new friends so I wanted a nickname that would get me noticed.
Two years earlier I had created a character 'The Extraordinary Tourist', a traveler between perceptions. A guy who was different depending on your point of view. The character's name was a variation of a book title "The Accidental Tourist", which was later made into a film staring Gina Davis and William Hurt. I really liked that title and wanted something similar for my character.
To cut a long story short, the character had a cool name so I adopted it as my own. To some degree I have also superimposed the character into my own life - mostly adopting the idea of being 'Extraordinary'. I think it's an ideal worth striving for.
Not satisfied with the short version? Well, why not settle in and hear me tell the long version with this video from my DVD, “Introducing The Extraordinary Tourist”. Just click the ‘play’ button in the middle of the video. 6 minutes, 32 seconds.
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Stills from video explaining
how I got my name.
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About this Web Site.
This web site is my personal home page on the internet. Its purpose is to share my creativity and interests with people around the world and is how I earn my living. I am a self representing, independent artist. The greatest compliment you can give me is to buy some of my work. After all this helps me to keep doing what I enjoy and sharing it with people like you.
I've done a lot of research into what makes a good web site and hopefully it shows. I've done my best to make the site easy to navigate. You can access all the main sections via the menu bar at the top and bottom of each page.
Newsletter, Master RSS Feed and Share buttons
At the top of each page you’ll see a form where you can subscribe (or unsubscribe) to my monthly email newsletter. Each newsletter informs you of my latest ebay art auctions, Updates done to the site and includes a personal message from me. It’s a great way to keep up to date with this site without having to check back periodically just to see if anything is new.
If you know what an RSS (Really Simple Sindication) Feed is and would prefer not to receive my newsletter then my Master RSS Feed is for you. It captures all the new content I post online including Videos (via Revver), Images (via Flickr), Ebay Auction Listings, Blog Articles, Helium Articles and probably even more in the future. Just add my feed to your favorite RSS reader. You’ll find the button for my feed at the bottom of every page on this site.
My Master RSS Feed is made possible with something wonderful known as a Yahoo Pipe. If you have any problems adding my feed to your RSS reader try visiting my Yahoo Pipe page for further options.
If you enjoy this site then why not share it through your favorite social network or bookmarking site. Right alongside my Master RSS Feed button at the bottom of every page is my Share button. With a couple of clicks it’s now extremely easy to share any page of this site with whomever you like.
Contacting me.
There are many ways to contact me with the most reliable being email as I check this every day. If you prefer the immediacy of instant messengers then you may add my name to your contact list of which ever service you use. Be aware that I don't log into these services that often because I find them very distracting when I'm trying to get things done. However you may just catch me.
Email: etourist@arttimeproductions.com
Yahoo Messenger id: e_tourist
MSN Messenger
Sign in name and email: etourist@hotmail.com
ICQ Number: 4074014
If you want to track me down in a chat room on IRC or on the web I could be using any one of the following names:
e_tourist, etourist, etouristTET, TET
The Extraordinary Tourist:
A brief history of my life.
I was born in the town of Whyalla, South Australia, May 10th, 1970. Both my parents are English migrants, my mum is from Farsley and my Dad is from Pudsey, (Leeds area) in West Yorkshire, who moved to Australia in 1967. Originally they lived in Elizabeth, a suburb of Adelaide, where my older sister was born.
At the age of eight, two years after my younger brother was born, my family moved to Perth, Western Australia. Employment was on the decrease in Whyalla with the BHP steelworks closing down their shipyards. Some friends of ours moved to Perth which prompted us to head in that direction.
For the next 21 years Perth was home. My family members have lived in various suburbs including Kelmscott, Gosnells, Maddington, Kenwick, Ferndale, Victoria Park and Shelley.
I was 13 when my parents separated. Us kids lived with my Dad but kept in regular contact with my Mum who was never far away living with her new partner.
All of my education was through the public school system. My grades were always consistently high with my best subjects being Art, Science, Math and English. Despite this I dropped out of high school at 15 to pursue an interest in computer programming at college (after failing to be accepted for Art college due to my age - or so they said).
Initially I did well at computer programming, however I wanted to program games and work with graphics. The course I was doing was business orientated. In 1984 there were no such courses geared towards games programming. After two years of a three year course I dropped out due to failing a couple of core units and not really wishing to continue.
In the following years I spent much time swapping between periods of long term unemployment and being employed. My first job was the result of an unemployment training scheme. The company, Edcom Computer Services, who were contracted to run a course in Computer Operating were so impressed with my ability to create graphics on a computer that they hired me for their desktop publishing department.
It was through this company that I was first exposed to the wonders of the Apple Macintosh 512k computers just as they were being superseded by the Macintosh 1000/se. I worked for Edcom for 18 months before they were forced to close their DTP department.
During the next few years I had another attempt at getting into art college but failed due to not really putting in the effort on my entrance portfolio. I worked for a screen printing firm until an airline strike crippled the tourism industry, where the companies main clients were based. I started skateboarding after my brother took it up. Completed another government scheme to help me look for work and finally, landed a graphic design job for The Centre for Water Research at the University of Western Australia (UWA).
The job at UWA lasted all of my two months trial period. I resigned due to a combination of things. Partly I felt out of my depth with the work and partly I felt I didn't fit in with the department people - who were all students and science researchers in a field I knew nothing about. The decision to resign was that much easier when I broke my leg in a skateboarding accident over the Christmas holiday period. At that stage the commute to work was an hour and a half each way on public transport. Not an easy proposition with a broken leg.
Another period of long term unemployment followed. During this time my sister and I opened a public skate park at Canning Vale, I completed yet another government scheme to help me find a job and I finally committed myself to getting into art college and succeeded.
1992, I commenced a three year course at The Western Australian School of Art and Design (although then it was known as the Art and Design Department at Perth TAFE). I chose to do Graphic Design, thinking that the opportunities for employment would be better than for fine arts.
Art College had a profound effect on my life. It expanded my creative experience while at the same time causing me a considerable amount of stress. Although I graduated with exceptionally good grades for most of the three years, my self esteem was at an all time low by the final year. This is well documented in a personal journal I kept at the time.
By the time I had completed art college our skate park had closed, my dad had remarried, my mum had separated from her partner, I was living with my sister and my brother was living with some of his friends.
Despite having a Diploma in Graphic Design I didn't get a job straight away. Six months of looking, a chance encounter with an interviewer who knew someone who needed a person that could do line drawings of backpacks, resulted in my first freelance graphic design contract.
The contract was with Wilderness Equipment, a Perth based, camping equipment manufacturer that was looking for someone to illustrate their products for their first ever catalogue (after being in business for 18 years!). The job proved to be lucrative as I went on from drawing over 100 illustrations to designing and maintaining the catalogue and, several years later, creating the companies first web site.
It was also a massive boost to my self esteem as I took on the contract, negotiating my own work hours and pay as well as learning many new software packages in record time (such as a crash course in Corel Ventura over a weekend) in order to complete the work.
Wilderness Equipment has been my largest contract. I've had a few smaller ones over the last few years and for a time I worked as a casual layout artist for FAL, a parent company to several major Australian supermarket chains. Most of the time I've been officially listed as 'long term unemployed' - I've found it really hard to make a full time living in the arts.
Around 1996 I was invited to join an American based, online Star Wars club called the 'Hammer's Fist' which was centred around the Lucas Arts computer game Dark Forces and later Jedi Knight. Dark Forces was my first foray into 3D first person shooter games. When I discovered a level editor for the game I began designing my own levels. This caught the attention of the club leadership who were scouting for people to design levels for their group - which was failing due to a lack of interest and new levels for the game.
I spent about three years as a member of the Hammer's Fist, running it for two years and boosting the membership and interest in the process. During that time I taught myself HTML and web design - creating a number of highly praised sites for the group.
In 1997 I participated in a course to assist in starting up your own business. Although I didn't complete the required business plan I still managed to establish my business 'Art Time Productions'. Initially I opened a small, weekend shop at a newly established undercover market in East Perth. Known as the depot markets. Through the shop I sold framed originals of my artwork and accepted commissions for artwork.
Unfortunately the markets themselves were losing money, and my shop was barely breaking even as a result. I had to close up about eight months after I began due to a massive rent increase I couldn't afford. Shortly after that the markets closed their doors for good.
I still trade under the name 'Art Time Productions' when I am commissioned for freelance work or sell my own artwork.
At about the time I was participating in yet another government employment scheme my Dad decided to expand his commercial cleaning business which he had started a couple of years earlier. He offered me a job which I accepted without much hesitation. The best part, aside from the regular income, was that most of the work was in the evening. This meant my days were completely free to pursue whatever creative projects I chose.
Just before Christmas of 1999 I met my partner online through a web site I had been frequenting for the last year or so called Whispers. The site was based in WA but my partner wasn't. She lived at Gawler in South Australia.
We started our relationship communicating by email, then by phone. Finally in February of 2000 I went on my first ever, self paid, 2 week, holiday to Gawler SA. This trip was really successful and prompted me to move back to South Australia in May of the same year, leaving my family back in WA.
My partner and I have been together ever since. During the time I've been in Gawler I've attempted to get my web design business up and running with limited success, been listed as long term unemployed and completed yet another government scheme to help me find a job.
In July of 2000 I was one of the founding members of a Community Arts organisation known as ArtsAction Gawler Inc. The group is an umbrella organisation for all the Arts and Crafts in Gawler and the surrounding region. We are attempting to find a permanent exhibition space for all those groups and individuals.
During my first year with ArtsAction I designed their logo, stationery and created and maintained their web site. In its second year I was voted in as the group's secretary - and I still maintain the web site.
In the first half of 2002 I studied for my Certificate III in Community Services and Youth Work. The second half of that year I joined two youth groups, Gawler Youth In Action (GYIA) who are a local youth advisory council, and the Gawler Youth Workers Network (GYWN), who are the supporting body for youth workers in Gawler.
In 2003 I continued with my studies, moving on and completing my Certificate IV in Community Services and Youth Work. Eventually I hope to be developing and implementing positive, arts related activities for disadvantaged young people in my area.
Mid 2003 saw me elected unopposed to my local council. As an elected member, myself and 9 other Area Councilors plus the Mayor make decisions that can effect our entire community. Elected members hold their positions for a period of 3 years.
Towards the end of 2003 I was elected as chair person of the Gawler Youth Workers Network.
Early 2004 I moved house, with my partner to a heritage house on a large property. The house includes a large shed which I now use as my studio (after nearly 4 years of having no real space to create art).
Towards the end of 2004 I began working on my first online, themed, exhibition entitled 'Sleeping Cats'. The exhibition featured nine artworks all inspired by two of my own poems. Seven of the works were new having been created in the second half of 2004.
The exhibition web site went online at the beginning of December 2004 and closed at the end of January 2005. Overall it was well received (based on comments in the guest book and other feedback received) despite only one of the works selling during the exhibition.
Also during 2004 my employment situation remained pretty constant. Lots of little freelance jobs but not enough to get me out of the unemployment queues. I think in early 2004 I participated in a ‘Work for the Dole’ program in which I continued with my Gawler Youth Workers Network commitments, working along side my council’s youth officer for 3 months.
Towards the middle of the same year I was channeled into ‘Intensive assistance’ for finding employment. Which translates to being required to spend five days a week 9am-4pm in a classroom writing job applications and phoning for employment opportunities.
Something of note about this program was that the employment agency had pinned to a notice board in the classroom a one page article, about the positive skills that unemployment gives you, that I had written some eight years earlier. I found it quite frustrating that the co-ordinator of the program never made the connection despite my name clearly appearing as the author of the article.
As you can imagine by this time I’d had enough of employment programs and made a concerted effort to not try very hard at all but meeting with the minimum requirements of participants. Though I’d often turn up late towards the end when the co-ordinator finally gave me a ‘talk’ and all but told me to leave.
From there I was asked to once again participate in ‘Work for the Dole’ but I flat out refused to co-operate. Though I dragged everything out. I felt I had good reason not to participate but when something is ‘compulsory’ no reason is a good reason. At the beginning of February 2005 Employment assistance and I parted company.
The upshot from that was to take my art seriously and to really work much harder to make an income from my art. So I turned professional and have been earning a very hard, but rewarding and challenging living from this web site.
2005 has been a difficult year financially but starting up my ‘Happy Cat Jac’ web site has been a good move in that it attracted several commissions and helped me to establish something of a discipline in creating art.
The web design work has still been coming in too, in small amounts, but has also helped the finances. In the last quarter of 2005 I redesigned my Art Time Web site with a new look and refocussed the services around commissioned artworks more than web and graphic design.
I also moved all my sites to my new web host ‘50webs.com’ which provides a free service with no advertising. This year I’ve redesigned this site to incorporate Art Time’s new look and to bring my Blogger blog back into the site.
2006 saw some additions to the site. Happy Cat Jac earned enough sales to allow me to upgrade this site’s Cafepress shop to a Premium shop. Which has enabled me to offer all manor of products featuring my art in a shop that is properly integrated into this site.
I’m happy to say at this point (May 2006) I’m well past my first year of not being on some government employment program or benefit...it’s been tough but all is still good!
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It’s now March 2008 and a few things have fallen by the way side but this site is still going and I’ve made some real progress working as a full time artist.
Towards the end of 2006 I started creating online videos of my art, humor and other ideas. This proved to be a real boost to my web presence and saw my newsletter subscribers jump from about 30 to well over 2000 in the space of 3 months. Over the year ahead this as doubled again. At the time of writing I have approximately 4200 newsletter subscribers.
Maintaining two web sites (three if you include my Art Time site) proved cumbersome. With this site’s profile increase from video and the addition of my Cafepress premium shop I felt it was time to drop my Happy Cat Jack site but not lose it altogether. In the beginning of 2007 I merged the site back into this one giving my cats their own special page.
Around about April 2007 my cats really started gaining momentum as almost guaranteed sellers on ebay. I committed to painting one cat image per week and came as close as I’ve ever been to earning a consistent income outside of a regular job. Still not enough to earn a living from but my cats paid all my bills and then some for the remainder of 2007.
In 2008 this site is certainly going from strength to strength. I started this year with a commission for four paintings and so much web design work that I know I’m not wasting my time trying to work as a full time professional artist/designer. As well, on average between 20-30 people visit this site per day (roughly between 600 to 800 people per month). I’m also seeing a small rise in blog comments too - which is very promising.
I’m constantly trying new things. Such as not hosting my own gallery pages but utilising flickr.com, the social photo sharing site.
I’m looking forward to the rest of this year. The future will present new challenges which no doubt will add to my story on this very page.
Obviously this brief history only scratches the surface of my life. I hope you've found it interesting and have a better idea of who I am.
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![St. Albans Road Studio - [ Click for bigger version ]](./st_albans_rd_studio_apr2006_400ph.jpg "St. Albans Road Studio - [ Click for bigger version ]")
