I celebrate the too-short life of my friend Lawrence Argent. Lawrence died late last year and it has been a terrible shock for his family and his friends. Lawrence and I met on our first day at RMIT Sculpture School in 1979 and became fast friends, sharing our lives as artists discovering the joys of creativity, imagination and craft skills required to manifest our insights into beauty and truth. We both delighted in the digital revolution's power to enhance our creative output, and although Lawrence moved to live in the USA during the early 1980s and I remained in Victoria Australia, we stayed in contact and made regular visits to each other between continents.

Lawrence is the finest artist I have known, and his powerful insights and philosophical thinking are an inspiration to my practice as an artist. His artwork remains as a testament to a wonderful artistic vision and energy, and these artworks are to found across the USA and China especially. I think his master work is 'The Venus' in Market St, San Francisco. Commissioned by Angelo Sangiacomo of the Trinity Group, this masterpiece of sculpture is fabricated in polished stainless-steel and stands at a glorious 93 ft in the plaza space between a group of buildings. It is a wonder of the world and I encourage everyone to visit this sculpture and be amazed at the twisting surfaces and complex shapes the figure of The Venus makes as it is spun in a vortex of pure energy. I am so proud of my friend's brilliance as an artist, so sad not to have him near anymore and sad for his family and friends who lament the loss of his companionship, his dry humour, his sage insight and his great sense of fun and joy.