From his days as a graphic designer, to being involved in the Queer community, Girard's Hill resident Luke Atkinson now brings his creativity to NDIS clients, running local art classes. This week's Sunday Profile comes from the Humans of Lismore Facebook page and was written by Denise Alison, who interviewed Luke and found out more about his life.

Luke Atkinson: “I was born in Parramatta, the youngest of 5 children and grew up on 5 acres in Kellyville, north west of Sydney.

I had a great childhood, roaming the bush, riding horses and motorbikes and spent a lot of time drawing as a kid, always 'making something', either from clay dug from the ground, or using Dad's tools down in the shed.

After school I studied Fine Arts for 2 years, then I completed a Graphic Design Degree at Randwick TAFE. I worked weekends and holidays while I was studying as a picture framer. I also worked as an Usher at the Theatre Royal for Cats and Les Miserable. I must have seen both productions hundreds of times!

I was a volunteer workshop artist for Mardi Gras, working under the guidance of the late David McDiarmid, a hugely talented artist who's artistic legacy is vital in the history of HIV/AIDS in the gay community of the late 80's and early 90's. I remember David telling me on my first day 'just make anything you want!'. and that’s what I did.

I made two fairy bread outfits that myself and my friend Ross Bell wore in the parade. I carried a sign, 'We are two of hundreds and thousands!' and we threw lollies out into the screaming crowds. We were placed third in the costume parade contest and won $100!

I feel very privileged to have been part of the early days of the Mardi Gras workshop. So many immensely talented artists and performers and my 1988 parade became my first of many.

After graduating in Graphic Design I worked briefly for Mambo where I got to meet some of the iconic Mambo artists of the late 80's. It was lots of fun but after 6 months I got itchy feet and decided I needed a big change.

In May 1990 I bought a one way ticket to London, thinking I would stay for 6 months or so, but ended up living and working there for 4 years. When I first arrived I worked in a gay bar in Islington called The Fallen Angel, which was the catalyst for staying longer than planned as I met my future boyfriend there and made tons of friends.

Shortly after, I got a dream job as a designer for a music company called Atomic Records and my boss was Tom Watkins, who sadly passed away recently from cancer. Tom, at this time, was the manager for The Pet Shop Boys and Bros.

It was an incredible time for me to be working alongside Mark Farrow, who designed all of the Pet Shop Boys records and CD's and at times I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't an imposter! I met Neil Tennant, members of Bananarama, Andrew Ridgely from WHAM!. I dressed and decorated old warehouses for record launches and got to go to some incredible parties. It was so much fun.

After 4 years in London I started to yearn for my friends, family and some sun! Another London winter was on its way and the novelty of snow had worn off. I decided to return to Australia with my partner, Mark, and we applied for residency so that Mark could live and work in Australia. Sadly, after a year, Mark wanted to return to the UK as he too missed his family too much. We had 5 great years together.

When life settled I got involved with the Sydney Queer community and volunteered for the Mardi Gras workshop again. I also worked as a DJ at The Oxford Hotel and the upstairs bar Gilligans, as well as having a timeslot on the Gay community radio station, OUT-FM.

My busiest time was when I became a board member for PRIDE Sydney, whose aim was to set up a permanent community centre in Surry Hills.

Our major Fundraising event was the PRIDE New Years Eve party which was held at the old Sydney Showgrounds, and each year we would sell up to 20,000 tickets. I designed the party posters and scenics for the halls and even managed to be in a couple of the big midnight shows!

I continued my career as a graphic designer and eventually moved into publishing and magazine design, first working on Panorama Magazine, the inflight magazine for the now defunct Ansett Airlines. From there I worked at Fairfax, designing the weekly food liftout Good Living.

I took a redundancy after 7 fantastic years, taking Art Director roles at other publishing houses, working on a selection of titles that included Gourmet Traveller, Belle, Vogue and the inflight magazine for QANTAS.

Luke and Deepak.

It was during this time that I met an extremely handsome and sexy man, Deepak. We both lived in Surry Hills and I would often see him at our local gym. We went out on a few dates and I was seduced by his wonderful smile, his amazing cooking and his passion for art and culture.

My family embraced Deepak, making him part of our family and he managed to meet my mother before her decline. We've travelled to New Zealand twice, Thailand and last year I accompanied Deepak on his yearly trip to India, where I met his gorgeous sisters and parents.

It was an amazing few weeks of food, family and culture. After two years together we decided that I should rent out my apartment and make the big move and live together in his terrace house in Alexandria. We had a wonderful time living there and we filled the walls with art and built a wonderful garden in the courtyard. It was the perfect house for dinner parties, of which there were many!

Around 2013, Deepak and I decided to head north and go to the Tropical Fruits New Year. Friends of mine had been living in the Northern Rivers for years and I had already been to a few Tropical Fruit parties in the 1990's. We stayed with a friend in his big old weatherboard house and had a fantastic time. We returned a couple of years later and it was during this trip that something clicked for both of us. But more about that later!

Around 2016, my career in design was coming to a natural end and after 25 years in the industry and way too many redundancies and magazine closures, another big change was needed.

In 2017 I left Graphic Design and went back to full time study at The National Art School in Darlinghurst to do a 3 year Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The first year at the NAS was an amazing year for me.

I'd had a rough time after turning 50, the career I loved was in tatters due to the collapse of the magazine industry and my mother was suffering terribly from Alzheimer's disease. I found my groove again in making art and I couldn't get enough of it!

The location at the Old Darlinghurst Jail was just incredible and again found myself surrounded by an abundance of talented artists and teachers. I just loved going there each day and would often arrive before classes started so that I could squeeze in extra time in the studios.

My aim was to refine my skills as a painter, but after being reintroduced to ceramics I decided that this was what I wanted to do. I jumped onto the potters wheel and started making!

Towards the end of my first year at art school, life in Sydney became claustrophobic and unbearable. We were surrounded by over-development, constant noise, lack of infrastructure and found that we both wanted a change.

So after a lot of thought I deferred from the NAS, Deepak took a break from work and we sold our Sydney properties and bought the beautiful old house we had stayed in a few years earlier. We just loved the neighbourhood and were immediately welcomed into the community by all of our amazing neighbours, who have quickly become our dearest friends.

We have spent the last two years restoring this grand old dame, painting inside and out, re-landscaping, filling the walls again with all of our art, and taking a deep breath of fresh Lismore air! As Deepak often says, all the boxes have been ticked!

We are closer to three of my siblings, one lives around the corner and two an hour or so drive from here and we have a growing number of Sydney friends now living up here. It seems we aren't the only ones to see what Lismore has to offer. We are busy seeing exhibitions at the fantastic Regional Gallery, theatre and live music at NORPA and there's always something delicious to eat at the many cafes in town.

Dad was born in Wardell in 1925, and my Grandmother, Kitty Burgett, was born in Keen Street in Lismore in 1903. Her wonderfully named father, Haughton James Frederick Burgett, was the Crown Sergeant of the Casino Police, before being stationed at Lismore as the Lockup-keeper for fourteen years.

Nana married my grandfather in Ballina and they ran a sugarcane farm along the Richmond River until their house burnt down, losing everything, so they moved to Parramatta. I've done some research since moving here and have found some interesting family stories. It's great to have a connection to Lismore.

I feel so very lucky to have the life I now have, and to be able to spend time doing what I love. Deepak bought me a potter's wheel and I've created a studio space in the garage. I've managed to sell a lot of my work, which is very encouraging, and Pack Gallery Studios in Bangalow has a selection of my ceramics.

When I'm not in the studio, Deepak and I are working in the huge garden looking after the dozens of native trees we have planted since moving here. In the last few weeks we've been gorging ourselves on white and black mulberries from the trees in the garden.

Our mango tree is in flower again, and the citrus trees have been buzzing with bees. We often sit in the garden and just watch the changing light and listen to the birds. Talk about living the dream!

We have a beautiful 18 month old dog called Ramu, who loves nothing better than his 'play play!' time in the garden, or chasing the Water dragons who laze nonchalantly around the pool.

Lismore is a wonderful creative hub. We love the various festivals and food markets held throughout the year and it's so good to see the rich indigenous history of the Bundjalung people acknowledged throughout Lismore.

Moving here two years ago was a change for the better and we know getting out of Sydney was the right thing to do.”

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