Talking with Painters

The striking image was on a huge banner above the entrance of the gallery, on bus shelters around the city, in newspapers and even on the front cover of a magazine.

Kim is no stranger to the Archibald Prize – she’s been shortlisted in five out of the last seven years. And her sitters all have one thing in common; they are people she admires and who are making a mark in the queer community.

Using bold colour in a distinctive style, Kim involves her sitters in the process, depicting them with an exciting combination of realism and abstraction. Always innovating and moving forward, she is constantly pushing towards pure abstraction, exploring and experimenting along the way.

Kim has a fabulously positive outlook and is a regular finalist in many major Australian art prizes and has exhibited widely across Australia and the US.

This episode was recorded remotely during the 2021 Sydney lockdown.

See below for a short video from this episode.

To hear the podcast episode click ‘play’ on the above photo.

Above portrait photo courtesy of the artist

Click here for tickets to ‘The Artist Speaks’ series at the Art Gallery of NSW referred to in the introduction of this episode.

https://youtu.be/LvVPsBYf90I

A few weeks later she found out it had been shortlisted and a week after that, to her astonishment, it won. It was the first time she had entered the prize.

In selecting the winning work, guest judge Elisabeth Cummings said the painting was a strong, confident image full of energy and movement and that the artist’s use of the figure was imaginative and very much her own.

This recognition was not a one-off. Georgia was one of five to receive the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship less than a year earlier and won the Women’s Art Prize Tasmania in the same week as winning the Sulman. I got the impression, though, that, although the accolades were welcome, what was more important was to continue to create and explore without placing too much importance on them or on commercial success.

Although only 27, Georgia has exhibited in five solo shows across Tasmania, NSW and Victoria. She is also a singer and songwriter and her album ‘Trouble Isn’t Something You Can Hold’, recorded in 2017, draws from major life experiences and helped her through tragic times.

Georgia was born in London and lived in Ireland until she was nine before migrating to Australia. She now lives in Tasmania with her partner.

To hear our conversation press ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo.

Portrait photo supplied by the artist

Her love of that landscape and its First Nations People has led her to spend months at a time not only in the deserts of Australia but also those of India and the US. She has built an intimate connection to these lands and their people through thousands of hours of drawing and painting directly from her subjects.

The paintings in her recent show were big and bold, but it wasn’t just the scale that caught your attention. Standing in front of the works the viewer was drawn into an other-worldly landscape where earth colours are replaced with a kaleidoscope of hues including accents of shining iridescent paint.

Jo has been exhibiting for over 30 years, in hundreds of solo and group shows, and her work is held in private and public collections across the world.

She is also an acclaimed portraitist with work in the National Portrait gallery, as well as an art educator, lecturer and writer.

Jo comes from a family of well known painters and photographers including the modernist photographer Olive Cotton and her mother, the sculptor Anne Ferguson, has been her greatest mentor.

To hear the conversation press ‘play’ beneath the above photo.

I also filmed Jo in her studio in Sydney – her larger studios are in country NSW and in New Mexico, USA, where she has lived for the past 5 years. See below for videos from the Talking with Painters YouTube channel .

Upcoming show

Solo exhibition at GOCA, University of Colorado, April to August 2022

Links to things we talked about in the show

Part of Joanna’s story is that, for the first time in her career, she wouldn’t be attending the opening of her show. The paintings had travelled to Australia from her home in Mount Desert Island in the USA without her.

Joanna is a previous podcast guest and creates breathtaking landscapes which spill over towards abstraction. In this episode we talk about her stunning recent body of work in ‘Alone on the Marsh’ which draws on the landscape of her home in Maine with its rugged marshes, waterways and dense vegetation.

We also touch on the hardships brought by COVID – the homesickness, grief at the loss of a loved one back home and the dislocation caused by social and political unrest.

In spite of the difficult times, Joanna also talks about a silver lining and how her painting may not have taken the course it did were it not for the events of the past year.

Press ‘play’ beneath the above photo to hear the podcast episode.

You can also see a short video from our conversation below.

Above photo supplied by the artist

‘Alone on the Marsh’, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, 22 May to 19 June 2021

I am in awe of the artists who work in this way because it calls for painstaking labour and the technique is certainly not suited to every painter. Australian artist Robin Eley, based in Los Angeles, is highly skilled in every step of the process, producing work which leaves many viewers incredulous.

For Robin, the task of creating the reference material is often the most important, and the time consuming execution of the painting requires expertise finessed over years of practice.

Robin has been shortlisted in many Australian art prizes including the Archibald, the Doug Moran National Portrait prize (where he has been awarded runner up and highly commended) and the Eutick Memorial Still Life prize. His work is held in private collections and public institutions around the world.  

In this episode you’ll hear how Robin came to painting, which he didn’t embark on until he was 27, after a career as a commercial illustrator. A teacher of art, he is generous in sharing his knowledge as many of his Instagram and Facebook followers would know. 

His most recent body of work has to be seen to be believed – paintings of masterpieces including the Mona Lisa and Girl with a Pearl Earring, wrapped in plastic. The illusion even continues beyond the canvas support where he has extended the sides irregularly to heighten the appearance of the plastic turning around the edges of the work. 

He has also created other innovative works including ‘The Binary Project’ (see link below to YouTube video) which involved the participation of thousands of people around the world. The ambition of that work is typical of this artist, though; he is always pushing the boundaries of what a painting can be.

To hear my conversation with Robin click ‘play’ beneath the above photo.

Scroll down for a short video with excerpts from the podcast interview.

Above photograph of Robin Eley courtesy of the artist.

Solo exhibition, 2022, New York – details to be confirmed later this year.

She had been working on her entry for the Archibald prize when she had trouble with her eyesight and was finding it difficult painting the fine details of her work.

Thinking she needed an eye test, she visited her optometrist which led to a swift hospital admission and the shocking diagnosis of an aggressive brain tumour.

In the past year she’s had to make decisions which go to the heart of one’s purpose in life and which also highlight the importance of creativity. 

This episode is about those choices but it’s also about Filippa’s life as a skilled artist.  She’s been painting for over 30 years, and has been a regular finalist in many art prizes including the Archibald (with a stunning portrait of the late Judy Cassab) as well as the Black Swan and Portia Geach and last year she was noted as one of the artists who had been selected the most times in Australian art prizes in that year. 

Her entry into the Archibald this year is a fascinating portrait of her surgeon Professor Charlie Teo who has provided not only medical care prolonging her life but compassion and empathy along the way.  

You’ll also be hearing from her close friend, artist Louisa Chircop (pictured above left), who joins us in this conversation. Louisa is a previous podcast guest and has been a rock for Filippa throughout this time. She is also entering the Archibald with a portrait of Filippa.  She was one of seven artists who requested Filippa to paint her portrait this year and even though many portrait sitters have in the past agreed to having their portrait painted by more than one artist for the Archibald, Filippa has only said yes to Louisa.

We recorded this episode in Filippa’s studio in Sydney which also operates as a private gallery where she has exhibited her own work and that of fellow artists. From time to time you might also hear Filippas’ beautiful budgerigar, Sky.

To hear the podcast conversation click ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo.

Scroll down for a video of Filippa talking with Maria Stoljar in her studio.

See my video of Guido Maestri painting in the field on the TWP YouTube channel

Ever since art school he has been exploring the materiality of paint, whether it’s an Archibald-winning painting, a non-descript laneway or a bird as roadkill, it’s this passion which drives the work whether it’s in the landscape or back in his Sydney studio.

Although some might think of him as a portrait painter – he’s an Archibald Prize winner – his subject matter lies more in his expressive landscapes and breathtaking still life works. He’s also a sculptor and his various interpretations of the classic bust are captivating.

He has exhibited in over 25 solo shows to date and the Art Gallery of NSW has just announced the acquisition of his fabulous work ‘the rain song’ which was a finalist in last year’s Wynne Prize.

After years of plein air painting, Guido’s studio work now plays a more significant role. The result is a growing body of outstanding works created through observation, imagination and a letting go of previous constraints. His show ‘short stories’, opening on 8 April at Yavuz Gallery in Sydney, is a testament to this way of painting.

We recorded this interview outside Mudgee in country NSW, near the banks of a river among the sounds of birds and the wind in the casuarina trees. Guido had planned a day’s painting after the interview and he set up a large canvas near the riverbank which he fixed to an easel to keep it stable. I was fortunate to film him setting up and painting that day and I’ve posted a video to the Talking with Painters Youtube channel of that work.

After the interview we also had the opportunity to see the construction progress of the spectacular new regional Art Gallery in Mudgee which is almost completed. Guido was born in the town and spent the first few years of his life there. An exhibition of his current works will hang on its walls when it opens its doors to the public. That show is scheduled for August this year.

To hear me talk with Guido about how he became an artist and his approach to painting, click on ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo or listen however you get your podcasts.

Scroll down to see the video of Guido starting a painting outside of Mudgee, NSW.

Guy is about to turn 100 years old.  He has no less than 5 shows opening this year.  But he is also plain spoken, practical, down to earth and modest. In typical style he seemed pleased when I told him of the Instagram reaction, but he quickly changed the subject. 

Guy has had an extraordinary career.  He has won numerous awards including the Archibald prize, exhibited in over 50 solo shows and a phenomenal 6 survey shows (with more to come this year), and received two honorary doctorates, the Order of Australia and the Australia Medal. His work is included in many public, private and corporate collections across the world.

Although his paintings include portraiture and abstraction, much of his work is concerned with the landscape. His paintings reflect his interest in the idea that we humans belong to and are part of the landscape. This is a view which he formed when posted in Bougainville in World War II and it has echoed through his work down the decades.

The fact that Guy will soon be turning 100 meant that I was one of many requesting an interview. Even so, he was generous with his time and shared his recollections of the Great Depression and WWII, of the tumultuous changes in the artworld in the 50s and 60s, and of his travels to Alice Springs, New Guinea and London.  We talk about the successes but also a couple of regrets.

To hear the podcast episode click on ‘play’ beneath the above feature photo. 

You can see excerpts from this conversation in a short video below.

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Although he didn’t know about his connection with the famous artist in his childhood – he was in foster care and removed from his culture – Vincent has made his own way to success. But this time it was through portraiture. Painting for the first time in 2012, he would soon become a regular finalist in Australia’s most famous portrait prize, the Archibald, ultimately winning it in 2020.

He was the first indigenous artist to win the Archibald but, as Vincent would say, ‘it only took 99 years’. His winning painting, ‘Stand strong for who you are’ was a portrait of the artist with Adam Goodes, the indigenous AFL player who became renowned for speaking out against racism. Vincent saw parallels between Adam’s life and his own which he talks about in this conversation.

The subjects of Vincent’s portraits are wide-ranging; from his great-grandfather, aboriginal elders and politicians to the Queen, Captain Cook and Vladimir Putin. Painted in an expressive style, his works also encapsulate his unmistakable humour. In one work he places himself in the royal carriage with the Queen and in another is cutting a birthday cake with Donald Trump. Everyone is on a level playing field.

Vincent lives in the Indulkana community in the APY lands, about 400 km south of Alice Springs and is one of about 30 artists connected to its arts centre, Iwantja Arts.

He has received significant acclaim. Apart from winning the Archibald Prize, he won the Ramsay Art prize in 2019, has received an Order of Australia for his contribution to indigenous visual arts, his works have been acquired by the British Museum and significant institutional collections across Australia and he has exhibited in solo shows and international art fairs.

I interviewed Vincent at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia where he had been commissioned to paint the museum’s Foyer wall. It’s a huge 15m work called ‘P.P.F (Past-Present-Future)’ and depicts people who have been influential in his life. It is a spectacular work and will remain in the foyer for the next two years.

To hear our podcast conversation click on ‘play’ below the above photo. Scroll down for images of works we talk about on the podcast.

Above photo of Vincent Namatjira by Daniel Boud, standing in front of P.P.F. (Past-Present-Future), 2021, commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 2021, supported by Veolia Environmental Services, image courtesy the artist; Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; and Iwantja Arts, South Australia © the artist,

I also recorded video in Tony’s studio which I edited down to about 5 minutes, with lots of painting wisdom ending up on the cutting room floor. So in this episode I’m bringing you the full conversation.

Tony has been painting for over 50 years. Apart from winning the Archibald prize, in portraiture he is a regular finalist in the Doug Moran and Kilgour prizes as well as many others, but it’s in landscape that he is particularly prolific.

He has won the Paddington Art prize for landscape painting and repeatedly returns to the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south where he has found endless inspiration.

His first solo exhibition since winning the Archibald opens at Art Atrium in Sydney on 15 May 2021 and will consist of oils, watercolour and ink works based on areas within the Royal National Park.

To hear our 2019 conversation click ‘play’ beneath the above photo of Tony in his studio.

You can see the video in Tony’s studio below. I also filmed an interview with Tony in the Art Gallery of NSW not long after the Archibald announcement was made and you can see that video below also.