Afleveringen

  • Podcast listeners click here to see images of the works
    Over the years, podcast guests have shared some fascinating back stories to paintings they have made, stories which you could never have guessed on merely viewing the work.
    Sometimes that back story has made me look at the work in a totally different way and I’m bringing you a few of those to you in this episode. See images of the works we talk about below.
    Links

    Tickets for talk with Caroline Zilinsky at the Art Gallery of NSW (Artists in Conversation)
    YouTube video - Anthony White
    Vincent Fantauzzo podcast episode
    Prudence Flint podcast episode
    Ben Quilty podcast episode
    Scott Bevan podcast episode on William Dobell

    2:40    ‘Heath’, 2008, oil on canvas, 106 x 140cm (Collection of the Art Gallery of NSW, highly commended and winner of the Archibald Prize People’s Choice award 2008. Portrait of Heath Ledger)

    10:40    ‘Baby’, 2015, oil on linen, 105 x 90.5cm (Finalist in Archibald Portrait Prize 2015)

    15:45.  ‘Kandahar’ 2011, oil on linen, 140 x 190cmPhoto: Australian War Memorial

    18:00   ‘Captain S. after Afghanistan’ 2012, oil on linen, 210 x 230cmFinalist Archibald Prize 2012Photo: AGNSW/ Mim Stirling

    20:30    ‘Margaret Olley’, 1948, oil on hardboard, 114.3 x 85.7 cm boardCollection: Art Gallery of NSWWinner Archibald Prize 1948

    23:45.    ‘Storm Approaching, Wangi’, 1948, oil on cardboard on composition board, 32.9 x 56cmWinner Wynne Prize 1948

  • Podcast guests talk with me about the flow state!

    See below for timestamps and links to each guest's full podcast interview and video

    3:39 Julie Nicholson and Fiona Verity - Podcast | Instagram video

    6:40 Ann Thomson - Podcast | YouTube

    7:54 Joshua Yeldham - Podcast | YouTube

    10:15 Antonia Perricone Mrljak - Podcast | YouTube

    11:25 Wendy Sharpe - Podcast | YouTube

    12:51 Lewis Miller - Podcast | YouTube

    13:50 Aida Tomescu - Podcast | YouTube

    16:30 David Griggs - Podcast | YouTube

    17:27 Idris Murphy - Podcast | YouTube

    18:40 Kathrin Longhurst - Podcast | YouTube

    20:50 Anthony White - Podcast | YouTube (coming soon)

    22:07 Bernard Ollis - Podcast | YouTube

    23:59 Kim Leutwyler - Podcast | YouTube

    25:20 Tim Maguire - Podcast | YouTube

    26:40 Belinda Street - Podcast | YouTube

    27:58 Yvette Coppersmith - Podcast | YouTube (coming soon)

    29:30 Tim Storrier - Podcast | YouTube

    31:15 Jacqui Stockdale - Podcast | YouTube

    32:02 Sandi Hester - YouTube

    Links 

    Sandi Hester interview on the YouTube channel

    Sandi Hester’s YouTube channel ‘Bits of an Artist’s life’

    Paul Newton YouTube video

    TWP Instagram reels - ‘Summer reels from the archives’

    Ep  ‘Inspiration from the archives: Colour (1)’
    Ep  ‘Inspiration from the archives: Colour (2)’

    Ep  ‘Inspiration from the archives: Risk’

    Subscribe to the Talking with Painters monthly newsletter

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  • Above photo of Jan Senbergs by Riste Andrievski

    Click play for my podcast introduction to this interview and scroll down for the transcript.

    Podcast listeners click here and scroll down for transcript.

    Watch the YouTube video of Jan Senbergs' studio and work here
    Links

    Jan Senbergs' website
    Jan Senbergs on Instagram
    Jan Senbergs at Niagara Galleries
    Talking with Painters YouTube channel
    Talking with Painters on Instagram
    Talking with Painters on Facebook
    Subscribe to the TWP newsletter
    PDF version  of transcript for tablet/desktop 

    With over six decades of work as a painter, printmaker and draughtsman, leading artist Jan Senbergs has exhibited in over 50 solo shows and has been the subject of three survey shows including a major retrospective curated by the National Gallery of Victoria in 2016. A rare accomplishment.

    His art evolved from early masterly screenprints to large scale paintings and with subject matter as varied as urban and natural landscapes, industrial themes, surreal structures and forms and aerial map-like works.

    This episode has been a long time coming. Covid threw out our plans for an early 2020 meeting but two years later we met in Jan's inspirational studio in Melbourne. His voice has been affected by some health issues and so this episode is coming to you by way of transcript (below) and an intro on the podcast.

    As I was setting up my audio equipment on the day of the interview, Jan and I chatted about the time he had spent in London in his 20s. We talked about other Australian artists who were there at that time. That’s where the recording of the interview began.

    Jan Senbergs

    I was the younger artist who came into that area and I didn't know anybody. I didn't want to bother the local Antipodeans (laughs) so I usually went out by myself. I headed for the National Gallery on one occasion and ran into Arthur Boyd heading there too. We travelled together on the bus from Pimlico to Trafalgar Square. It was very nice because we walked through the Gallery making comments. It's lovely to do that with another painter. We walked past one room and Arthur stopped and said, 'There's a good painting in this room.’ It was a big dog watching over a dying nymph, by Piero di Cosimo. He was such an interesting painter. Afterwards, Arthur suggested we go and have a drink, so we went across the road and had a couple of beers and then he said 'You'll have to excuse me, but I've got to go back home. I've got a few duties there.' We shook hands and I never saw him again. 

    Maria Stoljar

    You never saw him again?

    JS

    No, but what was nice about it was the generosity of the older person to somebody younger who had just arrived. 

    MS

    How lovely. But you knew a lot of famous Australian artists like Fred Williams, for example. He was a friend of yours, wasn't he?

    JS

    Yeah, I knew Fred. When I first started showing around, I mixed with some of the older artists. At that time there were hardly any younger artists around. And because I hadn't gone to an art school, I was very isolated. It's quite different for artists today. Now there are thousands of young people trying very hard to make good art after their schooling. It's a different atmosphere. Schools pump out all these people with hopes and ambitions. That’s the reason it's good to know some of the older painters.

    MS

    Yes. Like John Brack?

    JS

    Yes, John Brack was one … Len Crawford, Fred, Roger Kemp – these were heavy-duty Melbourne blokes.

    MS

    It's amazing that you, in your early 20s, were hanging out with those people.

    JS

    Yeah, it was actually. Because I couldn't get into art school so I’d started working in a silkscreen printing company, which was a terrible bloody job (laughs).

    ‘Modern monument in colour ‘ 1975, Colour screenprint, 56.6 x 81.2cm (image)National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

    MS

    Why? Was it heavy work or just dirty work?

    JS

    Dirty work.

  • See a video version of the interview with curator Jackie Dunn here

    See a video version of the interview with artist Desmond Lazaro here
    The largest exhibition of Kandinsky's work ever to be seen in Australia has just opened at the Art Gallery of NSW!
    The exhibition, titled simply 'Kandinsky', brings together over 50 works of one of the 20th century's most innovative and ground breaking painters - Vasily Kandinsky - with 47 paintings from the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York.

    Curated by the Guggenheim's curator of modern art and provenance Megan Fontanella together with the AGNSW's senior curator Jackie Dunn, these works touch on the most important periods of Kandinsky's artistic career, from the early 'Blue Rider' period, to his time in Germany when teaching at the Bauhaus school right through to his final years in Paris.

    In this podcast episode (which you can also see on YouTube) I talk with Jackie Dunn about this extraordinary exhibition. She tells me about Kandinsky's life and work, including what the catalysts were for him to become a painter, his use of colour, line and form and his interests in spirituality and music.

    I also talk with Desmond Lazaro who was commissioned to design a family-friendly space where visitors are invited to follow the path of a colourful labyrinth and create drawings using the shapes that inspired Kandinsky. Lazaro is a British-Indian-Australian artist whose primary ingredient is colour. His practice explores map-making, planetary systems and the concept of the journey.

    Also, alongside the Kandinsky show is an exhibition of 'spirit drawings' created by British medium Georgiana Houghton in the 1860s and 70s. The exhibition, 'Invisible Friends', brings together a collection of rarely seen swirling, evocative watercolours.  They highlight how significant spiritualism was in early modernism.

    'Kandinsky' is a must-see exhibition.  It runs from November 4th to March 10th, 2024.  More details here.

    To hear the podcast episode press 'play' beneath the above photo.

    To watch the video versions of the interviews click on the links at the top of this page or see below.
    Links

    'Kandinsky' at the Art Gallery of NSW
    Desmond Lazaro
    Tickets for my conversation with Julia Gutman on 15 November 2023 in the Artists in Conversation series
    Talking with Painters on Instagram
    Talking with Painters on Facebook
    Connect with me on LinkedIn

    https://youtu.be/Pgm4112joG8

    https://youtu.be/D3b3WLlsakc

    'Composition 8' July 1923, oil on canvas, 140.3 x 200.7 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, by gift, photo courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

    'Blue mountain' 1908-09, oil on canvas, 107.3 x 97.6 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, by gift, photo courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

    Vasily Kandinsky 'In the black square' June 1923, oil on canvas, 97.5 x 93.3 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, by gift, photo courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

    'Landscape with rain' January 1913, oil on canvas, 70.5 x 78.4 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, photo courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

    'Yellow painting' July 1938, oil and enamel on canvas, 116.4 x 88.9 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, photo courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

    'Around the circle' May–August 1940, oil and enamel on canvas, 97.2 x 146.4 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, photo courtesy Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

     

     

  • This episode is a conversation between James Powditch and Maria Stoljar in front of an audience at the Art Gallery of NSW, recorded by the Art Gallery Society
    James Powditch has always loved the movies. As a child in the 70s and 80s he would watch whatever he could get away with - from Taxi Driver to Deliverance.
    But in recent years, after being shortlisted in the Archibald prize with paintings of Labor leader (now PM) Anthony Albanese and journalists Kerry O'Brien and Laura Tingle he noticed other themes emerge; media and politics.

    In his most recent solo show at Nanda Hobbs Gallery he found a way to merge those interests. In Medium Cool: Journalism in Film, works took on titles of films in which journalism and politics were central themes. Beautifully composed assemblages incorporating found objects explored the ideas behind movies such as All the President's men and Network.

    James has exhibited in over 10 solo shows and has won the Mosman and Blake art prizes. He has been a finalist in the Archibald Wynne and Sulman prizes for a combined total of about 25 times.

    In this episode Maria has a vibrant (and often humorous) conversation with James in front of an audience at the Art Gallery of NSW as part of the Artists in Conversation series.

    You can see images of the works they talk about below. Members of the Art Gallery Society can also see a video of this conversation for a limited period on the Art Gallery website.

    To hear the podcast conversation press 'play' beneath the above photo.

    Links

    James Powditch on Instagram
    James Powditch at Nanda\Hobbs Gallery
    Video of this interview on the AGNSW website (for members)
    Art Gallery Society membership page
    Get tickets for the Steve Lopes talk at the AGNSW 
    Samantha Dennison interview on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel



    'Once upon a time in Marrickville – Anthony Albanese', acrylic on paper and board 190 x 190 cm Finalist Archibald Prize 2020 



    Lloyd Cole and the Commotions album cover 



    New Order - Power, Corruption and Lies album cover  



    'Citizen Kave' mixed media  200 x 300 cm, Finalist Archibald Prize 2014



    ‘Citizen Kane’ 2022 Mixed media, framed 80 x 120cm 



    'All the President’s men II' 2023 mixed media, 40 x 60cm



    'All the President's men' 2023, mixed media 130 x 282cm



    'Laura Tingle - the fourth estate' Acrylic and paper on board 204 x 170.1cm Finalist Archibald Prize 2022



    Movie poster ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’



    Digital work, James Powditch



    Peter Powditch Photograph by Robert Walker (c1970) 



    ‘Peter Powditch is a dead man smoking’ 2009, Mixed media 193 x 263cm, Finalist Archibald Prize 



    Family photo, James Powditch



    ‘Crowdy Head (after Peter Powditch)’, acrylic on paper and cardboard  122 x 366

    Finalist Wynne Prize 2022



    ‘Crowdy Head IV’, Oil on masonite, 50 x 48cm, Peter Powditch



    The Wynne Club Championship 2023, oil, acrylic and pen on board, found objects , 180 x 316.1 cm , Wynne Prize finalist



    Sam I Am, acrylic on paper and board  200 x 240 cm, Finalist Archibald Prize 2023



    Digital work, James Powditch

     

     

  • Risk. Some painters want it in their toolbox while others are terrified by it. But nearly every painter will tell you that you need it in order to move forward in your practice. 
    It might be using a new material, drastically altering the composition of a nearly completed painting or creating a completely different body of work to what had previously been commercially successful and critically acclaimed. Any way you look at it, you're leaving yourself open to the possibility of failure, disappointment and probably the most painful of all - ridicule. 

    So whether we call it risk, chance, letting go of control or just leaving yourself open to mistakes, it all amounts to a greater openness to creativity. Taking the leap and seeing what happens.

    In this episode I bring together clips from eight previous guests about what risk means to them - and how they use it.

    See below for a list of the artists together with links to the full podcast conversation and YouTube video

    Press 'play' beneath the above image to listen

    Vanessa Stockard  Podcast | YouTube
    Paul Ryan  Podcast | YouTube
    Guy Warren   Podcast | YouTube
    Julian Meagher  Podcast | YouTube
    Ken Done  Podcast | YouTube
    Juliet Holmes a Court  Podcast | YouTube
    Tim Maguire  Podcast | YouTube
    Joe Furlonger  Podcast | YouTube

     

    Watch the Idris Murphy YouTube Video

    Listen to the full Idris Murphy podcast interview

    Sign up to the TWP newsletter

    Book tickets for my conversation with Steve Lopes at the Art Gallery of NSW

     

     

  • More inspiration from the archives!

    Here are another 12 past podcast guests talking with me about colour.

    Links to full podcast conversations and YouTube videos on each of the artists in this episode:

    2:13  David Griggs - Podcast | YouTube
    5:00  Laura Jones - Podcast | YouTube
    9:08  Lewis Miller - Podcast | YouTube
    11:10  Lucy Culliton - Podcast | YouTube
    13:13  Robin Eley - Podcast | YouTube
    18: 25  Melinda Harper - Podcast | YouTube
    20:35  Tim Storrier - Podcast | YouTube
    22:35. Wendy Sharpe - Podcast | YouTube
    25:28  Idris Murphy - Podcast | YouTube
    28:22  Aida Tomescu - Podcast | YouTube
    29:31  Bernard Ollis - Podcast | YouTube
    31:19  Emily Imeson - Podcast | YouTube

    Sign up to the TWP monthly newsletter here

    Follow the show on Instagram

    Follow the show on Facebook

    Connect with me on LinkedIn

     

     

     

  • This episode I'm bringing you some gems from the archives. Leading artists talk with me about colour!

    Episodes of featured artists:

    Jo Bertini
    Paul Newton
    Philip Wolfhagen
    Nicholas Harding
    John Wolseley
    Peter O'Doherty

    Links

    YouTube channel
    Talking with Painters website
    Sign up to the TWP newsletter
    Nicholas Harding talks with me about his Wynne prize painting
    John Wolseley talks with me about his watercolour techniques
    Short Instagram video of Paul Newton talking about flesh tones (longer YouTube video coming soon)

     

  • Watch an edited version of this conversation (4 mins) on the YouTube channel here

    Ann Thomson, one of Australia's most important artists, might be in her 90th year but she shows no signs of putting down the brush.

    A powerful collection of works is currently hanging in a solo show at Sydney's Defiance Gallery and Ann is looking forward to a busy 2024.  A major survey show to be curated by Terence Maloon will open at the S.H.Ervin Gallery in Sydney and travel to Orange Regional Art gallery in country NSW and solo shows at Messums in London and with Stephane Jacob in Paris are also in the calendar.

    Although Ann resists the label 'abstract artist', it’s her masterful use of colour and her superb mark making that will most likely catch your attention - those luscious brushstrokes and drips. But subjects often emerge; a landscape, tribal elements, creatures of the ocean.

    You’ll also see collaged passages. Ann is well known for using a textured ‘tarred paper’ which was used by builders. Although it’s in scarce supply (she believes she has bought up all remaining rolls in existence!) she doesn’t treat the material as a precious commodity. If you look closely at ‘Calypso’ for example, you’ll see the section of collaged paper is splattered with drips of paint. That’s because it had previously been lying on the floor of Ann’s studio like a drop sheet. She later pasted the paper onto the canvas where it exists surrounded by bright colours, its own history intact.

    It was wonderful to catch up with Ann to hear her thoughts on creativity and studio life. She has been a guest on the podcast twice previously – in 2018 talking about her life and art and in 2020 talking about her memories of meeting Ian Fairweather (links below).

    Ann is represented by Defiance Gallery in Sydney, Mitchell Fine Art in Brisbane, Charles Nodrum Gallery in Melbourne, Messums in London and Stephane Jacob in Paris.

    To hear our conversation press 'play' beneath the above photo and scroll down for images of selected works included in the show.
    Latest Talking with Painters YouTube videos

    Matthew Clarke
    Daniel Boyd
    Ruth Levine and Robyn Kinsela
    Ann Thomson

    Other links

    2018 Podcast conversation with Ann Thomson
    2018 YouTube video in Ann Thomson's studio
    Podcast conversation with Ann Thomson on Ian Fairweather
    Podcast conversation with Claire Roberts on Ian Fairweather
    Ann Thomson's website
    Article on Artsy Website: 9 Overlooked Women Artists in Their Nineties

     

    https://youtu.be/qLf00VQ3U6E



    Transcending 2018
    Acrylic on linen
    153 x 122.5 cm



    Shield, 2023
    acrylic on tarred paper on canvas
    120.5 x 81 cm

    This is one of the two works referred to at about 4mins in the episode.



    Calypso, 2013
    oil on linen
    122 x 122cm

     

  • Watch the edited video version of this podcast episode on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel
    The exhibition of Francis Giacco's paintings now showing at Australian Galleries in Sydney has been a long time coming. Covid pushed back the scheduling but it was worth the wait!
    I met Francis at the gallery and we walked through the exhibition talking about several key works which cross portraiture, still life and landscape. Apart from the Archibald, Francis has won the Percival Portrait Painting prize (and other awards) and has been a People's Choice winner in the S.H.Ervin's Salon des Refuses. 

    Titled 'Recent works: Pictures at an Exhibition (apologies to Mussorgsky)', the show is a combination of recent work and major paintings from the 80s and 90s. It includes Francis' enigmatic multi-figured portrait which won the Archibald prize in 1994. Several other works hanging in this first room were shortlisted in the Archibald and Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. 

    Influenced by Vermeer and the early Renaissance masters, his work exudes beauty and vitality. He's a keen observer of the effects of light, whether it's streaming from behind a still life or fracturing through a bamboo curtain and the way he depicts detail in the illuminated subject often pushes the real into the abstract.

    Francis (also known as Frank to those who know him) was my first podcast guest and in the past also taught at Julian Ashton Art School where I first met him. Many of his students have gone on to make paintings which have hung in the Archibald prize themselves and I can think of at least three who are finalists in this year’s exhibition. 

    The exhibition continues at Australian Galleries until 2 July 2023.

    To hear the episode click on 'play' above.

    Click here to watch the shorter 8 minute video version of this episode.
    Links

    YouTube video of this episode
    My first podcast interview with Francis in 2016
    Francis Giacco at Australian Galleries
    Francis Giacco on Instagram
    Francis Giacco on Facebook
    Johannes Vermeer
    Subscribe to the TWP newsletter

    https://youtu.be/csBvbFfcwUc


    Homage to John Reichard (1994)
    egg emulsion on marine plywood, 202cm x 188cm
    Archibald Prize Winner, 1994
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Lee Lin Chin (1993)
    egg emulsion on marine plywood, 163cm x 127cm, Archibald Prize Finalist, 1993; Doug Moran Finalist, 1995.
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    White widow 1999-2000
    egg emulsion on marine plywood, 132cm x 119cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    The piano 1984
    oil on canvas, 96cm x 89cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Jenny’s garden #25 – the altar 2020-23
    oil on marine plywood, 122cm x 128.5cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Jenny’s garden #20 – commotion 2020-23
    oil on marine plywood, 43cm x 88cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Balthus’ cats 2020-23
    oil on marine plywood, 122cm x 126cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    The audition 1990
    egg emulsion and oil on marine plywood, 60cm x 60cmImage courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Bondi Pavilion 1988
    oil on canvas, 76cm x 61cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Self portrait #3 – after Rembrandt c. 1980
    oil on canvas, 31cm x 27cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

    Rushcutters Park – bushfire smoke c. 1990
    oil on canvas on board, 39cm x 35cm
    Image courtesy of the artist and Australian Galleries

  • In the final episode of the series ‘When I won that art prize’ we go back to 2021 when a 27 year old Georgia Spain won the Sir John Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW, the first time she had entered the prize.
    In the same week she was announced the winner of the Women’s Art Prize Tasmania. These announcements were made less than 12 months after she was one of 5 artists to receive the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art scholarship.
    Georgia's recent work is currently hanging in the exhibition ‘Once more with feeling’ showing at Ngununggula, in the southern highlands of NSW. See below for links to Instagram videos about that exhibition.
    To hear this episode click on 'play' beneath the above photo.
    Links

    Full Georgia Spain interview 
    Georgia Spain's acceptance speech for the Sulman Prize at the AGNSW
    Episode 115 - 'The Archibald Winners'
    Sam Leach YouTube video (Part 1)
    Sam Leach YouTube video (Part 2)
    Tickets for Del Kathryn Barton live interview at the AGNSW 'Artists in Conversation'
    Subscribe to the TWP newsletter
    'Once More with Feeling' at Ngununggula, Southern Highlands, 3 June - 13 August
    Instagram video - Megan Monte talks about 'Once more with feeling'
    Instagram video -  Maria Stoljar at Ngununggula
    Karen Black
    Ben Quilty 
    Solo exhibition by Francis Giacco at Australian Galleries, 15 June to 2 July 2023

    ‘Getting down or falling up’, acrylic on canvas, 180.6 x 187.5 cm
    Winner: Sir John Sulman Prize, 2021

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs73wXShsoy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cs94XEbhR5e/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

     

  • In this episode I’m taking you back to my interview with Megan Seres who won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2016. 
    Megan received the $150,000 in prize money for her stunning painting, ‘Scarlett as Colonial girl’, which depicted her daughter in 19th century dress against a golden landscape.

    Megan hadn't planned on entering the competition, but was persuaded by a friend. When she heard her name announced as the winner, she was completely shocked.

    To hear the episode press play beneath the above photo.

    Central photo of Megan Seres supplied by the artist 
    Links

    Megan Seres full Talking with Painters interview (ep 41)
    'The Archibald Winners' (ep 115)
    Talking with Painters YouTube channel
    My YouTube video of Megan in her studio (2018)
    My 15 second video of the painting hanging in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize exhibition in 2016
    Megan Seres' website



    ‘Scarlett as colonial girl’, 2016, winner of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2016

  • You can see an edited video version of the interview with Julia Gutman here
    Australia's most famous art prize was awarded yesterday at the Art Gallery of NSW together with the Wynne and Sulman prizes.
    The $100,000 prize went to a shocked but happy 29 year old Julia Gutman for her fabulous portrait of singer/songwriter Montaigne. It’s titled ‘Head in the sky feet on the ground’, a beautiful mixed media work consisting of oils, found textiles and embroidery. I had a chance to talk with her shortly after the announcement and I’m bringing you today that conversation together with her acceptance speech.

    The Wynne prize for landscape painting or figure sculpture went to Zaachariaha Fielding for his painting 'Inma’. Zaachariaha is primarily a singer, the lead vocalist of the band Electric Fields, and sings in Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara and English. Together with producer Michael Ross they have received 22 awards over the past 6 years for his music. In the winning work Zaachariaha aimed to visually depict sound, specifically the sounds of Mimili, a small community in the eastern part of the APY lands in South Australia and thrilled everyone at the announcement by singing with a few friends saying 'this is what the canvas sounds like' (see below for a link to a short video). 

    The Sulman Prize for genre painting which was judged by the artist Nell and went to Doris Bush Nangarrayi for her work 'Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming)' which depicts several Mamus the ominous and malevolent spirits that terrify Anangu. These figures are typically seen to have large haunting eyes with straight hair standing upright and can shapeshift into many different forms, including the human figure. Doris lives in Papunya in the Northern Territory and paints vivid memories stories and dreams from her life.

    See below for images of all winning works.
    Links

    Julia Gutman's website
    Video of Zaachariaha Fielding

    https://youtu.be/eI1pStmYY0E?si=uOzNmScilDmGki0l

    https://youtu.be/GIF0LOntO2o

    https://youtu.be/eaTKIf6fBT4

     

    Winner Archibald Prize 2023, Julia Gutman 'Head in the sky, feet on the ground', oil, found textiles and embroidery on canvas, 198 x 213.6 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter

    Winner Wynne Prize 2023, Zaachariaha Fielding 'Inma', acrylic on linen, 306.2 x 198.5 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter

    Winner Sulman Prize 2023, Doris Bush Nungarrayi 'Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming)', acrylic on linen, 198 x 273.5 cm © the artist, image © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter

  • In part 2 of the series 'When I won that art prize' we go back to episode 29 when James Drinkwater recalled winning the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship in 2014.  
    The award included a three month residency in Paris at the Cité Internationale des arts, a dream come true for any young painter. However, when he and his young family set off for France, not everything went according to plan.
    Upcoming show

    Solo show at Edwina Corlette, 'You could just make a painting and write it all in there - new paintings from the slip room', 3 - 23 May, 2023

    Links

    Episode 29, James Drinkwater on Talking with Painters
    Episode 115, The Archibald Winners
    YouTube video of interview with Packing Room prize winner Andrea Huelin
    James Drinkwater on Instagram
    James Drinkwater at Nanda\Hobbs
    James Drinkwater at Edwina Collette
    James Drinkwater at Nicholas Thompson Gallery
    Lottie Consalvo 

    Photo of James Drinkwater by Maria Stoljar (2017)


    ‘Encrusting the marvellous heart’, diptych, 2015, oil and collage on hardboard, 180 x 244cm
    Finalist Wynne Prize 2015

     

     

  • Golden moments from the archives! While I'm busy updating my YouTube channel and taking a break from new interviews, I'm thrilled to bring you a new series featuring clips from past podcast guests.
    In my first series 'When I won that art prize' I look back at conversations I've had with painters about their experiences with winning awards. Although there are plenty of upsides (the prize money being one of the main ones) it's not always a positive experience!

    In 2017 (ep 35), I chatted with the fabulous Prudence Flint. No stranger to art prizes, she has won the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Len Fox Painting Award and has been shortlisted in the Archibald seven times. But when I asked her what it was like winning the Doug Moran National Portrait prize in 2004, with prize money of $100,000, her response was not what you might expect.
    Links

    Full TWP Prudence Flint interview - episode 35
    Prudence Flint website
    Prudence Flint on Instagram
    Prudence Flint's studio on TWP YouTube channel
    Talking with Painters YouTube channel
    The Good Oil Podcast with Graeme Douglas
    Subscribe to the Talking with Painters newsletter



    ‘A Fine Romance #9’, 2004, oil on linen, 117 x 82cm

    Winner of Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2004



    ‘Baby’, 2015,  oil on linen, 105 x 90.5cm

    Finalist in Archibald Portrait Prize 2015

  • See the YouTube video of Maria Stoljar's earlier conversation with Idris Murphy here
    Last Thursday I was thrilled to speak with Idris Murphy, leading contemporary artist and a previous podcast guest, in front of a live audience at the S.H.Ervin Gallery in Sydney.
    It's where the survey exhibition of his work, 'Idris Murphy: Backblocks' is now showing and continues until 26 March 2023. Curated by Terence Maloon, it features breathtaking work predominantly from the last two decades. Paintings which shimmer, glow, and transport the viewer. 

    Idris talked with me about his career including the stories behind several works, the influence indigenous culture has had on his approach and how he works in the studio.

    Although this exhibition is impressive in its quality and depth, this isn't the first survey show of Idris’s work. The exhibition ‘I and Thou’ in 2009/2010 had highlighted the preceding 30 years of work.

    He has exhibited in over 40 solo shows over the years with work in major public collections including  the National Gallery of Australia and Art Gallery of NSW.

    Thanks to everyone who came along! 

    I also filmed our conversation and will be uploading an edited version of this chat to the TWP YouTube channel in the coming months.

    Idris is represented by King Street Gallery in Sydney.

    Photo of Idris Murphy in his studio (2022) by Maria Stoljar 
    Current exhibition
    'Idris Murphy: Backblocks', S.H.Ervin Gallery, Sydney, until 26 March 2023
    Links

    Idris Murphy's website
    Idris Murphy at King Street Gallery
    Previous podcast interview with Idris Murphy: Episode 131
    Henri Matisse
    Clip of the American writer I refer to in the episode at about 6:40 - Etel Adnan - on beauty 
    Susan Sontag - 'On Photography'
    Jeanette Winterson
    Annie Dillard
    Rose Wylie
    John Berger  The quote we refer to is from his book 'and our faces, my heart, as brief as photos'
    Bono - 'Surrender'
    Nick Cave
    Badger Bates
    Tickets to Artist Talk with Nick Stathopoulos at AGNSW
    Subscribe to the TWP monthly newsletter 

     

    https://youtu.be/YlceSOHxf6w?si=Alp_RTOQcEWFxoRd

    Installation photo - S.H.Ervin Gallery (see below for individual works)



    'Somewhere in France 1', 2017, acrylic and collage on aluminium, 151 x 141cm

    ANU Art Collection



    'Somewhere in France 2', 2017, acrylic and collage on aluminium, 151 x 141cm

    ANU Art Collection



    'Somewhere in France 3', 2017, acrylic and collage on aluminium, 151 x 141cm

    ANU Art Collection



    'Half Moon at the New', 2015, acrylic on aluminium, 153 x 153cm

    Courtesy of the artist and King Street Gallery



    'Weipa Harbour Storm', 2005, acrylic and collage on board, 120 x 120cm



    'Low tide Boodery National Park', 2015, acrylic and collage on board, 150 x 150cm

    Private collection

  • For those of you interested in portraiture in Australia, Yvette Coppersmith needs no introduction.  
    She has painted dozens of portraits, including a collection of fascinating self-portraits, and is regularly shortlisted in the country's most competitive portrait awards. In 2018 she was awarded the one that would place her in Australian art history - the Archibald Prize.

    What has captured my attention more recently, though, are Yvette’s abstract works, particularly a body of work I saw in her exhibition ‘Presage’ at Sullivan + Strumpf in Sydney last year. They were thickly textured, swirling abstractions and how she came to create that show is as interesting as the paintings themselves.

    Yvette has been painting for over 20 years and her work is held in many public and private collections. In addition to winning the Archibald Prize, she has won the Metro 5 Art Award and has been a finalist multiple times in nearly every prestigious portrait prize in Australia, including the Doug Moran, Portia Geach, and Darling Portrait prizes.

    In this episode we follow her career from her early photorealistic works to her present-day experimentation with paint and genre, encompassing still lifes and interiors along the way.

    To hear the conversation click 'play' below the above photo. See below for images of the works we talk about in the show.

    Photograph of Yvette Coppersmith by Mel Savage
    Links

    Yvette Coppersmith's website
    Yvette Coppersmith on Instagram
    Yvette Coppersmith at Sullivan + Strumpf
    'Presage' exhibition at Sullivan + Strumpf
    Roger Kemp 2019/20 retrospective at the National Gallery of Victoria
    Talking with Painters YouTube channel
    Sign up to the Talking with Painters newsletter



    'Self-portrait after George Lambert', oil and acrylic on linen, 122 x 101.5cm, 2018

    Winner Archibald Prize 2018



    'Nude Self-portrait after Rah Fizelle', oil on linen, 91.5 x 66cm, 2016

    Finalist, Portia Geach Memorial Award, 2016



    'John Safran', oil on plywood, 120cm x 90cm, 2009

    Archibald Prize finalist 2009



    'John Safran', oil on plywood, 120cm x 90cm, 2009

    Archibald Prize finalist 2009



    'In the Garland, portrait of Paul Capsis', oil on linen, 22.5 x 111.5cm, 2007

    Finalist, Archibald Prize, 2008



    'Untitled Movement (Scarlet Lake)', oil on jute, 76.5 x 61cm, 2022

    Photo: Matthew Stanton

     



    'Untitled Movement (Triptych)', oil on jute, 3 x 122.5cm x 91.5cm

    Photo: Simon Hewson



    'Arrangement with Grey and Yellow', oil on linen 61cm x 46cm , 2014



    'Geranium and Succulents', oil on linen, 80cm x 59.5cm, 2015



    Posthumous Portrait of Edith Morris, oil on linen, 86.5cm x 63.5cm, 2020

    Photo: Matthew Stanton

    Collection of Melbourne Girls Grammar School

     

  • The gestural marks in Anthony White's work are often bold and demanding of the viewer's attention. These abstract works vary from swirling lines in saturated colour, to textured surfaces and more formal collaged constructions.
    What is not apparent on the surface of the canvas is the time the artist has spent reading, writing and researching in the lead-up to their creation. Newspapers and books play as much a role in his work as the paint itself and writing his own thoughts on social and political issues and current events are crucial to his creative process.

    In this podcast conversation we touch on those ideas but Anthony also makes many insightful observations about the creation itself.

    Born in Australia, Anthony is now Paris-based and is represented by several galleries in Europe and Australia. His first museum show, titled 'Mobilising Material', was held at the Mark Rothko Art Centre in Latvia in 2022.

    He also returned to Australia last year on a creative fellowship at the National Library of Australia where he researched Sidney Nolan‘s commissioned mural of the Eureka Stockade. (See below for a link to his presentation relating to that research)

    He has been awarded the Marten Bequest Travelling scholarship, amongst other residencies, and his work is held in public and private collections internationally.

    Scroll down for a video of highlights of this interview on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel.

    Click on 'play' below the above photo to hear the podcast episode.

    Photo supplied by the artist
    Links

    Website
    Anthony White on Instagram
    Anthony White at Metro Gallery
    Anthony White at Boullier Fine Art
    Anthony White at Artscape Luxembourg
    Mobilising Material Exhibition at the Mark Rothko Art Centre, Latvia 
    National Library of Australia Creative Fellowship presentation 2022 (YouTube)
    Click here for my US highlights Instagram reel 
    Subscribe to the TWP newsletter 

    https://youtu.be/QzWRmXJ_p1c?si=DfHqQFlVys2y85-_



    'Lampedusa', 2019, oil and ripolin enamel on linen, 150 x 120cm



    'The Landscape is never Innocent (after Mannalargenna)', 2018, oil and ripolin on linen

    Finalist and Highly Commended in 2018 Glover Prize



    'Sanctuary' 2016, oil and shellac on linen, 120 x 100cm



    'Federation Peak II', 2020, oil on linen, 150 x 120cm

    Finalist 2021 Glover Prize



    'Ghost series XIII' 2022, acrylic and flash on linen, 90.5 x 90.5cm



    'Proletariat', 2017, 91.5 x 91.5cm

  • Most artists know that painting a portrait in a tradition where colour and form appear realistic takes years of training where trial and error play an important part.
    This is part 2 of my interview with leading portrait painter Paul Newton. He makes the analogy of a painter being like a cook and it's an appropriate one. And like a celebrity chef printing his secret recipes in a cookbook, Paul shares in this episode many of the lessons he's learnt through his years of experience.

    In the first of this two part conversation, Paul spoke with me about how he became an artist and the stories behind several of his stunning portraits. In this episode, we talk more about the creation of his paintings. 

    Amongst other things, we talk at length about colour, he shares the pitfalls when using photographic references, the challenges of painting backgrounds and he shares an interesting approach on how to see work with fresh eyes, something crucial for portraitists painting in a realistic style.

    Paul is a fifteen-time Archibald finalist (including twice People's Choice and Packing Room Prize winner), has 6 works in the National Portrait Gallery's collection and has painted dozens of commissions of notable people from politicians to movie stars.

    Scroll down for two YouTube videos, the first of excerpts from the podcast interview and the second of Paul demonstrating mixing flesh tones on his palette.

    To hear the podcast episode click 'play' beneath the above photo.
    Links

    Click here for the TWP website if listening through your podcast app
    Hear Part 1 of this conversation here
    Paul Newton's website
    Paul Newton on Instagram
    Paul Newton on Facebook
    Robert Hannaford
    John Singer Sargent
    Diego Velazquez
    'Pope Innocent X' by Diego Velazquez, Doria Pamphilj Gallery
    'Lady Agnew of Lochnaw' (hi-res), John Singer Sargent, National Galleries of Scotland
    Graeme Inson 

    https://youtu.be/YhVVKyAZO6w

    https://youtu.be/R3w1znrxtMs



    'Self portrait 2022', oil on linen, 35.5cm x 36cm



    Progress photos of 'Self Portrait 2022'



    The palette sheet Paul refers to at the beginning of the episode.

    ‘Portrait of Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness’oil on linen, 215 x 142.2cmFinalist Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, 2022



    'Self portrait in lockdown, 2021'

    Finalist, Darling Portrait Prize 2022



    ‘Maggie Tabberer 1999’
    Oil on canvas, 213.5 x 106.5cm


    'Our Lady of the Southern Cross - Help of Christian’
    oil on Belgian linen
    2011, 200 x 80cm
    Domus Australia chapel Rome

    'St Mary of the Cross Mackillop', 2010
    oil on Belgian linen
    235 x 180cm, Domus Australia chapel, Rome


    Beethoven death mask study

  • It was the 80s. Paul Newton had finished a science degree and was a singer in a band. He sensed, though, that this was not meant to be his life's work.
    'I'm a bit of a perfectionist and unless I can do something really well I find it frustrating to do it at all'.

    So he decided to change course and he put that perfectionism to good use; he is now one of Australia’s most highly skilled and accomplished portrait painters.

    If you are interested in the Archibald prize,  you no doubt will have seen a Paul Newton portrait. He’s been a finalist 15 times, a People's Choice winner twice and Packing Room winner twice.

    But those portraits are just the tip of the iceberg. He has been painting the portraits of notable people for over 30 years, spanning the arts, business, law, sport, the church, the military and more. From Hugh Jackman to  Kylie Minogue, from former prime minister Bob Hawke to former governor general Sir William Deane, from David Gonski to Frank Lowy, Roy and HG to David Campese, Maggie Tabberer and even Saint Mary Mackillop.  

    Paul has six works in the National Portrait Gallery's collection, has been awarded art prizes in the US and his many  commissions include 32 pictures for the interior of the Domus Australia Chapel in Rome.

    In this first of a two-part episode we talk about how he became an artist and the stories behind many works including his portraits of Hugh Jackman and Deborra Lee-Furness, Roy and HG and Maggie Tabberer. In the next episode we'll dive into other works but also talk more about technique including an in-depth discussion about his use of colour.

    Scroll down for two YouTube videos, the first of excerpts from the podcast interview and the second of Paul demonstrating mixing flesh tones on his palette.

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

    Latest YouTube videos and Newsletter Signup link

    Sign up for the Talking with Painters newsletter
    Tributes flow for Nicholas Harding
    Maria Stoljar takes you to the opening of Sydney Modern (3 minute video)
    Richard Lewer talks with Maria Stoljar about his commissioned work for the AGNSW

    Links

    Paul Newton's website
    Paul Newton on Instagram
    Nigel Thomson
    Norman Rockwell
    Max Meldrum
    Roy and HG
    Maggie Tabberer
    Hugh Jackman
    Deborra-Lee Furness
    David Campese
    John Singer Sargent

    https://youtu.be/YhVVKyAZO6w

     

    https://youtu.be/R3w1znrxtMs



    'Portrait of Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness'
    oil on linen, 215 x 142.2cm
    Finalist Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, 2022


    'Roy and HG (John Doyle and Greig Pickhaver)'
    Oil on canvas
    137.5 x 124 cm
    Finalist Archibald Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, 2001, Packing Room Prize winner, People's Choice winner



    (L) 'Maggie Tabberer 1999'
    Oil on canvas, 213.5 x 106.5cm

    (R) 'Maggie Tabberer 2020'
    Oil on linen, 213.5 x 130.5 cm



    'David Campese II', 2000, oil on canvas, 125.0 cm x 115.0 cm

    Collection: National Portrait Gallery



    The Beethoven death mask study which Paul talks about at 27min 15sec