Li v i n g I t U p i n Oz for a barbecue (‘barbie’ in local slang) at the Fremantle market. Like kids in a candy store, we are overcome with desire to scoop up fresh tomatoes by the armful. The vegetables are arranged enticingly in a rainbow row – red peppers, orange carrots, yellow lemons, green broc-coli and brown mushrooms. Fill the kitchen with these colours, and it immediately feels like a cosy coun-try home instead of a rented house.

For a party of 12, our grocery bill came up to about AUD400 for three days’ food supply. Had we stayed in a hotel, a meal at a restaurant can easily cost over thirty dollars a head. For the experience of eating food lovingly cooked by ourselves, dining out pales in comparison.

One Saturday my friends and I got down to washing, chopping and peeling for a barbie dinner. I swiftly sliced up some zucchinis, head filled with the grandiose that I was Martin Yan from Yan Can Cook. We fired up the grill and put on the star at-traction, thick steaks coated gener-ously with herbs.

The sight of delicious meat sizzling away inspired us to elevate our din-

ing experience. Kenneth carefully laid out the table as though he was the maître d' at El Bulli. “We must have wine,” he said firmly, setting down the fat-bottomed glasses.

Western Australia is famous for its wine, produced mostly in the Margaret River region. Pair a glass of cabernet sauvignon with barbe-cued food and the meal suddenly becomes more refined. While the local community may live in surf shorts and T-shirts in the summer, eating decadently at home is the way they enjoy life. For tourists, self-catering on holiday here is one way to indulge the palate without even stepping into a snooty restaurant.

Large groups travelling together will have more bonding time when rent-ing a home. Unlike isolating hotel rooms, the living room becomes a gathering place for us at night. Put on a mellow CD and you get a grown-up slumber party where your friends drink wine instead of hot cocoa and marshmallows.

Our house, which fits up to 13, costs AUD570 a night, or just AUD47 per person. A standard room at the nearby Esplanade Hotel is priced at AUD199 a night and upwards. Shoestring budget travellers who want to immerse in local culture will be better off with self-catering, as friendly neighbours are happy to drop by for a chat and give tips on where to find the best weekend farmers’ markets. After just a few days in Fremantle, you might start feeling as though you have lived there for years.

Instead of staying in a hotel, try self-catering to experience Fremantle’s laidback culture. By Yip Jieying

Fire. Meat. Smoke. Charcoal. Fat. And a glass of sophisticated cabernet sauvignon, cheeky but full-bodied.

Throw on some strips of zucchini drizzled in olive oil, and a medley of mushrooms tossed in garlic and black pepper. Serve with bite-sized cubes of roast potato with a handful of fresh rosemary plucked from the garden, and you have an Ozzie barbecue.

Something has happened to Austral-ian food over the last few years. The slab of meat sizzling over the flame still takes centre stage, but even bar-becues have become, well, nicer. It is no longer a few blokes huddling over a portable grill, haphazardly slapping on steaks while swigging beer.

In the Fremantle holiday house my friends and I rented, the outdoor bar-becue grill came with its own rustic hut. There is a refrigerator, washing sink, dining table, and even a bottle opener dangling from a string tied to the ceiling raft. Evidently, the owner takes his barbecuing very seriously.It is exciting just buying ingredients

Fresh produce from the Fremantle Market sizzling on the grill.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Ian and Rosslyn de Souza’s living room doubles up as a studio for live drawing.

To immerse in the free-spirited lifestyle of Fremantle’s artists, drop by art power-houses Ian and Rosslyn de Souza’s home. By Yip Jieying

Ian and Rosslyn de Souza’s living room doubles up as a studio for live drawing

In Fremantle, you find art in the strang-est places. At the carpark on Leake Street, behind the city marketplace, a mural of a deer sprawled across an entire building’s wall, guarding stationary vehicles like a gi-ant attendant. But art isn’t just on the wall, it is everywhere. On the sidewalk, a poetic phrase carved into wet concrete says: “Love the magic and life won’t be tragic”.

From the streets, art spills into homes. In my friend’s rented house, an enormous painting by the owner hung on the wall. The brush strokes are bold and decisive, forming an image of joyful, voluptuous women dancing across the canvas. The art-ist signed off with ‘Ian de Souza’.

Ian de Souza is a long-time figure on the Fremantle art circuit, having staged his first solo exhibition titled ‘Portraits of Ports’ in 1983. For Fremantle Arts Festival in 2010, Ian and his wife Rosslyn came up with a programme that includes getting the public to sketch live musicians and dancers. Any medium or material goes – café patrons were gamely drawing on the back of the festival brochures, their cups of coffee abandoned. An elderly woman created an embroidered portrait of a belly dancer on a portable sewing machine, all the while humming and swaying to the sitar music.

Art in Fremantle is literally everywhere. The de Souzas live in a charming single-storey bungalow with Oriental-inspired décor. Their bathroom door is completely transparent glass. The couple is very open about showing off their entire house, fill-ing it with their own works and colourful Chinese antiques. The eclectic tables and chairs don’t match; a reflection of Ian and Rosslyn’s carefree approach towards inte-rior decorating. Weekly live drawing sessions are held here, where no furniture is too precious for ink

drips and charcoal smudges. This even-ing, the de Souzas invited a dancer as their nude model. Artists from all over Fre-mantle are streaming into the living room, clutching sketchpads and wooden easels. Ian offers intricate lacquered stools for his guests, and uses his vintage grand piano as a makeshift easel. A rather extravagant way of backing your canvas – but Ian commits to being an artist “full-time”. Art is a lifestyle the de Souzas live and breathe.

The people in the house are works of art themselves. One lady wore a silk shirt in a stained glass print, blonde hair piled high into a bun. Iris Apfel-like sunglasses com-pleted her eccentric look. Meanwhile a man with long stringy hair looks comfort-able in his rainbow tie-dye T-shirt, having possibly dyed it himself. Artists have a fashion license to wear tie-dye, and not get laughed at.

The model removes her (also tie-dye) dress and sits on an antique chair. She is yet another living work of art, so graceful and self-assured that she seems to dance without making a single movement. Her tattoos look like mini paintings on her. Layers upon layers of art are found in Fre-mantle if you look closely, piled on top of each other. The deer mural on Leake Street earlier by artist John Nixon is painted over a mural of an orange dot, which was in turn painted over silver stripes. Ian him-self paints on several sheets of rice paper at one go, letting the ink bleed through the wispy sheets to create different paintings.

The fact that the de Souzas are influential artists doesn’t intimidate, for they spare no effort in making other artists feel at home. Rosslyn puts on a classical music

CD that tinkles softly as the artists worked. In the backyard, a gushing fountain creates a hypnotic rhythm of running water. Occasionally, Rosslyn’s poodle nuzzles an artist’s leg, begging for attention. There is no air of artsy pretentiousness, only a cosy bohemian environment to create art.

After an hour of drawing, Rosslyn announces a snack break. She brings out a big plate of cheese and crackers. “Would you like wine or tea, dear?” she asks around with a smile. The artists gather around the long picnic table, helping themselves to fruit while chattering. Occasionally, loud laughter breaks out. The ambience is communal, with people meeting for the first time bonding over food and drinks. With tummies satisfied, the artists amble back to the living room and pick up their pencils again.

Live drawing session, AU$15 per head, 14b Blinco Street, for more information email info@iandesouza.com.au