by Bonnie Collings
For Neerim District based artist Mal White, creating art is a way of celebrating life.

In fact, his creativity is something Mal believes has been passed down through the bloodline, being the grandson of celebrated Victorian signwriter, Edgar Hook.
But Mal and his grandfather share more than creativity; both men were diagnosed with leukaemia.
Mal is a survivor of chronic myeloid leukaemia. After 13 years of daily chemotherapy medication, Mal is cancer free and no longer has to take medication.
As a way of raising awareness of blood cancer and the work of the Leukaemia Foundation, Mal has created a coffee table book titled "In My Blood."
The book is a "tale of two artists", showcasing Mal's artwork and his journey with leukaemia and the parallel story of his grandfather. Portions of each book sale are donated to the Leukaemia Foundation.
Mal was 43 when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia.
"Once a year I went for a routine blood test because by family has fairly bad cholesterol," he said. "I went for this blood test on April 8, 2007 and on April 30, I got a call from the doctor's office saying he'd like to see me."
Thinking he was being called in to discuss his cholesterol levels, Mal wasn't expecting what came next.
"He said, "Mal I've got bad news for you, you've got leukaemia". That's how you get the news when you get a cancer diagnosis, they've got to be blunt."
According to the Leukaemia Foundation, about 330 people in Australia are diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia each year.
"There is no consistent reason as to why this happens," Mal said. "It's not genetic, it's got nothing to do with gender, income or culture. It's the same statistics across the world."
Mal said there were two main "threads" that came together and contributed to the creation of "In My Blood."
"I like doing art and I like to get my art out there so people can look at it and appreciate it," he said. "It's very hard to get into galleries unless you're a known artist. So (I had) the idea to put it together in a book, it would be nice to leave if for my grandchildren."
The second "thread" was Mal's desire to contribute to blood cancer research.
"It's not so much the cliche of 'giving back', it's more about investing in future benefits for other people," he explained.
"My battle (with leukaemia) was long and difficult, but at least I had a battle. If you go back 20, 30 years, you didn't even have the chance (to battle), and my grandfather obviously didn't have the chance."
Combining the two reasons, Mal came up with the concept of "In My Blood."
"I thought I would do a book of my art and do it as a fundraiser, raise awareness about blood cancer, and maybe raise some money towards research and support of the Leukaemia Foundation."
After learning more about his grandfather's story, the artwork he created and his own leukaemia diagnosis, Mal decided to weave Edgar's story and photographs into the book.
"(There was) a pretty strong parallel there that added to the story," Mal said. "I believe that creativity can be passed down through the bloodline, and the fact that we have this shared journey of blood cancer, gives the double meaning to "In My Blood."
It wasn't until later in life that Mal learnt about his family connection to Edgar Hook.
"I didn't know much about him because he died when my mum was 15 and I was 12 years off even being thought of," Mal said.
"A year after he died my nanna remarried, so when I was born, Poppa with the Scottish accent was my grandfather."
As he got older, Mal asked his mum more about her father and learnt he was the creator of some famous brand signs across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including the heritage listed "Velvet Soap" sign in Kyneton.
Interestingly, Mal almost took up signwriting himself.
"At the age of 16 I was keen to get out of school so I took myself off to night school to learn how to do signwriting," Mal said.
But on his second night, Mal's teacher very bluntly told him, "you haven't got it, go and do something else with your life."
"That really put a dent in my interest in fine art," he said. "For 35 years I almost didn't pick up a pencil or a paintbrush."
It wasn't until he was 51 that Mal started creating art again. "I took myself along to a community art program and I thought I'd have a go at learning to draw. I did my very first drawing in that class."
Some nine years later, Mal has a studio full of work and a fanbase eager to buy his creations and commission pieces from him.
"Art has brought both the therapy of healing and the joy of creative expression into my life," Mal said.
"I express myself through art, a lot of it is pretty colourful because I've faced darkness. I celebrate the fact that I'm alive and I'm still alive to tell the tale."
Mal's book "In My Blood" can be purchased online via his website, www.malwhiteart.com or by contacting Mal at malwhiteart@gmail.com
Each book is $55 with $15 from every purchase donated directly to the Leukaemia Foundation.