It’s a cold and foggy early autumnal day on the mountain and despite the inclement weather Kym Hart is in his ‘uniform’; singlet and jeans.
His studio shed is a hive of activity with paintings covering every surface.
“I just sent a swag of paintings to Sydney yesterday to a number of private clients,” he says.
The 60-year-old has been a well-known resident of the mountain for almost 25 years.
“I love it up here. I fell in love with the place and can’t leave. It’s a fabulous community.”
Since following in the brush strokes of his famous artist father, Pro Hart, Kym has cemented himself as one of Australia’s iconic artists, painting outback scenes reminiscent of an idyllic bygone era.
“I do paint a range of eclectic subjects,” he says.
One of his newest pieces is a commentary on the buy out of land and water rights by the Chinese.
“There are Australians who have water running through their property and can’t use it because the Chinese have bought the rights. It’s just terrible.”
Born and raised in the dust of Broken Hill, Tamborine Mountain is a stark contrast.
“It was so dry out there. We can have more rain up here in night than we’d get in a year at Broken Hill.
“I was lucky to grow up amongst the largest collection of art in the Southern hemisphere that I got to draw inspiration from.
“It was amazing to utilise that as inspiration for my own work.”
In 2000 he opened a gallery on the mountain where Fortitude Brewery now occupies.
“I rode my motor bike up here as a teenager and frequently visited the Gold Coast. When the opportunity came up for the gallery I jumped at it.”
“I paint every day so don’t have much spare time, but I love to cook.”
Kym has a passion for charitable causes and regularly donates his paintings to charities.
In 2022 he was one of ten artists who painted works for the Queensland Eye Institute’s exhibition, Last Seen.
Kym’s piece captured the last image seen by before a bomb he was disarming in Iraq blew up and took his sight.
“It was daunting and emotional when he explained the whole thing to me. He did it to save other’s lives. The loss of sight would be the worst thing that could happen to me so working intimately with him was emotional.”
