23 Oct 2009, Posted by Cat in News, 10 Comments. Tagged dad, life

dad’s in the paper again

article from The Daily Telegraph

Artist a picture of courage after brutal bashing
By Elizabeth Fortescue

When Cameron Sparks suffered grievous injuries in an alleged attack at his Waverton home in June, his family were sure the artist would die.

News of the event, which is before the courts, saddened people throughout the North Sydney area where Sparks is well-known for his dedication to art and his passion for history and bushcare.

Sparks, 79, has made a miraculous recovery and tomorrow he will attend Artarmon Galleries where his daughter, writer and photographer Catriona Sparks, will open a show of his work.

He has resumed his daily outings by foot and train and last Saturday he returned to the Old Vienna Coffee House in the Queen Victoria Building where he would sit and draw. He was greeted with open arms by the staff.

"I haven’t seen them for six, five months," Sparks said. "When it happened to me somebody told them and they promptly sent me a card."

The artist refuses to be bitter.

"I don’t want my life affected by the bad story. The good story is much, much richer," he said.

Following news of the alleged attack, a stranger came to the house and handed Sparks’ wife Betty a sketchbook. Sparks had lost it in Casula after collapsing with sunstroke in 2008. The sketchbook contained his address.

"He (the stranger) said ‘The sketches looked all right so I thought they should be returned’. Then he went away. Most people haven’t got a clue about visual art but that’s a beautiful story," he said.

Sparks cannot remember the events of June 2 or the month which followed.

He said his family had been "steadfast" when he spent about four months in hospital and rehabilitation. His most recent operation, three weeks ago, removed two of his toes and a skin graft was taken from his hip. Doctors have ruled out brain damage.

"There will be on-going issues but the worst of it is over," Catriona said. His other daughter, archaeologist Dr Rachael Sparks, has flown to Sydney twice to visit her father.

A 41-year-old man has been charged over the attack.