A master shows the way

IF you are a bad doctor or lawyer, chances are you will still make a good living. But if you are a bad artist, you're better off committing suicide. That's what acclaimed abstract artist Milenko Prvacki has been telling his students for 20 years at Lasalle College of the Arts. And he's only half-jesting.

Prvacki, 63, now sells his works for between $8,500 and upwards of $40,000. But it took him decades to build an artistic reputation. And it involved the kind of grit, faith and persistence only some of his students have.

"For the good students, it's not about exams ... it's about passion, ambition, intellectual curiosity, and the endless drive to constantly upgrade themselves. When I meet these students, I know they will go on to practise art, and some of them will be very good," he says.