It is said that you eat with your eyes and, if true, artist Simon Luxton's work with a palette is tickling the palates of others.
Luxton is making a reputation for himself in the international BBQ competition world and is also creating food-themed murals such as one depicting a well-known Port Macquarie fruiterer and surfer.
He may have failed art at school, but the self-taught artist and sometime tattooist has found a niche.
"I guess the best way of describing my art is a chaotic collaboration of the subject's interests — all mashed up to make one piece of collaborative creation," Luxton said.
Reg Mombassa, the creator of Mambo artwork and musician with bands such as Mental As Anything, is one of his heroes.
"I have always liked the '80s and early '90s style of surf imagery and that was the era that I grew up in. I guess it has rubbed off onto my style," Luxton said.
Surf nearby helps chaotic art
While BBQ competitions in Australia are yet to scale the heights of being televised as they are in the United States of America, Luxton said his work is viewed by the competitors as a way of helping finance their "cooking indulgence".
"They often want to stand out from the crowd," he said.
"It has almost become a prerequisite for a team to have a uniform and use that uniform as merchandise to sell and help pay for the expensive hobby that you have somehow fallen head first into."
It is not just to the smoky world of competition barbecuing that his chaotic food depiction is proving popular.
An Argentinian charcoal company, which wants a stake in Australia's meat cooking market, has approached him and his food depictions are finding their way elsewhere overseas.
Luxton's work is making an impression at home as well.
Living at Tuncurry within earshot of the surf has also influenced him.
"I sit here and pinch myself when I am doing a job for a company or competitor that I am a fan of and they approach me to make their brand better. It is definitely a great compliment," he said.
It's not just meat that has helped stake a living
Port Macquarie's 2020 senior citizen of the year Ken Little is well known for selling local farm produce from his fruit and vegetable shop.
The 68-year-old is equally well known for being up as dawn breaks catching a wave prior to opening the store.
His love of surfing and business are the centrepiece of a Simon Luxton mural on the side of his delivery van, which has made it stand out.
It was his son's idea originally, and despite some reservations the reaction has been good.
"People loved it. So we have gone with it," Mr Little said.
I grew up surfing in the '60s. I surf every day and if you look at the picture the surfboard I am riding is a relic from the 1970s reincarnated.
"People come up to me and say, 'Oh, you are the bloke on the side of the van'."
