Last year, being another year of Covid lockdowns and restrictions, I looked around for some of my good friends who I haven’t yet painted in the art world. Bob and I are part of a group of 15 odd artists based in the Adelaide Hills and one night during conversation I wondered about painting him and he with his smile exactly as the painting shows was quite flattered that I would ask him. With further conversation, I discovered, that he has never had his portrait painted by another artist. Thus, his beaming smiley eyes did not alter during the whole sessions that he sat and I believe I have absolutely nailed his extremely calm, warm, very friendly nature. When Bob sat, I did approx. 5 sketches and 1 acrylic study, I later started a further painting as entered.

Monika is an accomplished non-figurative, conceptual artist, who has had many exhibitions. She is full-time and treats her art career very seriously. I asked Monica if she would mind sitting for me for a series of portraits. She was delighted to be asked and also remarked that she had never had her portrait painted before ever. I had 2 sittings with Monica and on both occasions, I did numerous sketches and a number of acrylic paint studies. Monica was leaning against the kitchen sink and we were talking as I sketched. She wasn’t sure whether this would be a good pose and I said that “you were relaxed as you were informally talking about your art”. So I think I’ve managed to grab some of Monica’s intensity and seriousness about her work as she was dressed in the Klimpt like smock that she always works in.

Last year during winter, Kon, myself and 2 other artists 4-wheel drove into the Flinders Ranges. There we sketched, loosely painted and photographed over a number of days. It was extremely cold most of the time even though it was sunny. On return to Adelaide, I decided to create a full-scale portrait of my good friend, Kon, based on his love of Outback Australia and with him being a sculptor he was thrilled that we discovered an incredible number of glaciated rocks, which on research was between 600 to 700 million years old. To me, this puts into perspective the age of our beautiful land and the changes that have occurred within it.
“Glaciers in the centre of Australia? Yes!”