MLC Gallery

449 Harris Street, Ultimo

8th – 20th March 2010

Mad Max and Goose on a break from filming, with “The Interceptor”.

Once again I’ve had a great time creating two more scenes from the iconic Aussie film “Mad Max”.  I have used oil on canvas, my favourite medium.

Still love painting the old cars!

Don’t you just love the FJ Holden?

And the Kingswood?

The series is called “So you want to Paint a Portrait?”  It will take an amateur portraitist on a step by step journey from the first sitting, basic proportions, observing features and forms and  initial sketches.  Then through to composition and preparing your first tonal drawing and painting before we move on to painting the actual figure.

It’s been challenging to sit down and actually think about, photograph and document processes that I do now practically by autopilot!

Thanks Annette for allowing me the opportunity!

The first issue will be on sale 11 December 2009, Vol. 17, No. 3.

Happy reading …

The Pink Ribbon Ball raises funds for the Sydney Breast Cancer Institute.  The Institute is one of Australia’s leading centres for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

This painting is a story in pictures of his life.  His lovely wife Maud and I spent hours going over old family photos.  We discovered old sepia shots of his first car, first boat, his baby photos, Maud in her first car at age 17 and we combined these with snaps of his children, grandchildren and objects d’art from his home. 

To top it off, his lovely new Aston Martin Vanquish as a juxtuposition to his old Honda S600 Coupe, and his amazing Sunseeker 82 Motoryacht beside his first Sunseeker runabout.

We sat in my studio, chatted about his life and he told me a story from his childhood growing up in Beirut.  He was watching a “wealthy” cousin eating mangoes.  These were a delicacy in those days and the cousin didn’t offer to share the fruit.  It was at that point Nabil made a decision to become successful, so he would be able eat as many mangoes as he wished …

In the painting I have layered images of the photos in 3D over canvas painted to look like folded parchment.

When Nabil first saw the painting he actually tried to remove the painted-on photos!

Well, why not?

He’s an interesting character and probably one of my most challenging portraits yet.  Tim has many facets to his personality and was almost a different person each time I saw him.

Tim’s next question was “Where?”  I envisaged him at a grand piano of course and he suggested one of his favourite old venues, The Basement.  If you’re familiar with this club, let me tell you it’s a very different-looking place during the day.  It was surreal to sketch and photograph Tim as he played a few tunes on the old Steinway.

I first painted a small study of the portrait, which was a finalist in the 2007 Lexus Mortimer Art Prize.

Tim gifted the portrait to his mother – I hope she likes it.

It was also buzzing when the organisers of the 2008 Lane Cove Art Show called to tell me the painting won Highly Commended in the Urban Landscape division.

I presented the crew from Bertoni’s with a print of the painting – wonder where they’ve hung it?

Parliament House, Canberra

September 2009