A Moment with Adrian Doyle, Melbourne

The creativity of Melbourne can be seen most clearly in its array of colourful streets, lovingly transformed by artists like Adrian, who are lucky enough to live in a country as vibrant and beautiful as Australia and do what they love. We grabbed a moment with him to see what inspires his work, and why we should visit…

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do…

Well, I work out of the infamous Blender Studios in Melbourne’s CBD. I’m an artist and I’m lucky enough to run the Melbourne Street art tours and the Blender Studios. Mostly, though, I’m just a punk that hasn’t grown up, and I get to do what I love every day. Being an artist has been a hard journey, but it sure has been a lot of fun. We now have Blender Creatives too, which is a company set up to find work for artists.

What inspires your art in Australia?

I am inspired by Australian art and its unique identity as well as the work of my peers. I also spent many years in Thailand and have great respect for its culture and imagery. But my main area of focus? It’s on the idea of the suburban dream or the dream – most of my large scale murals and my fine art focus on this idea. “Street art is a great platform for propaganda” and “One man’s propaganda is another man’s ideology”…

What is Melbourne’s best kept secret?

It has heaps of hidden lanes and bars, and is a place that requires time to be properly discovered. You really do need to know a local to go to an awesome warehouse party, however, many locals find themselves drinking at one of the myriad of hidden bars, anywhere from Workshop on A’Becket Street to the ever hip Roof Top bar – the view is amazing and best enjoyed with a large beer.

If we had 24hrs in Melbourne, where would you take us?

Melbourne street art tours, the National gallery of Victoria and I would hire a boat to cruise down the Yarra with live music and have a party. I might stay at the Grand Hyatt, and catch a Australian Rules Football game at the famous MCG before heading down to Brunswick Street Fitzroy for a craft beer and a coffee. I’d also be sure to check out the Rose Street Market and eat at Paper Rock Scissors in the CBD or Top Paddock in Richmond.

What is your favourite beach in Australia?

Nearly all of the beaches are beautiful. I recommend getting a car and just driving until you find a beach a bit out of town with no one on it.

Which part of the Australian coast would you suggest we visit after Melbourne?

I would have to recommend Tassie’s West coast, which is completely untouched and of course the Barrier Reef and the North coast of New South Wales. One thing Australia has is big beautiful beaches and plenty of them.

List your top 3 cultural activities in Melbourne?

Parties, Dancing, live music and comedy. The National gallery of Victoria (so cool they had to build two of them). The lane ways and the many awesome cultural events Melbourne hosts from Moomba to White Night, Melbourne Fashion Week to the Melbourne Comedy festival.

What can we see by way of Aboriginal culture in Melbourne?

Melbourne has a strong connection with its Aboriginal past. I recently did an Aboriginal cultural tour and was amazed at how much amazing history I was unaware of and what it truly meant for the Aboriginals when the Europeans came.