KILGOUR PRIZE 2020

Michael BELL
born 1959 Maitland NSW
Starting The after party (Two self-portraits) 2020
oil and charcoal on canvas
artist collection

In 2019, I painted a large picture titled The after party. I really loved working on that painting in my studio over a period of about 3 months.
The picture included a portrait of myself aged 6 – waving red flags at a primary school fete.
My latest painting is a self-portrait in the studio working on that painting.
Two self-portraits 55 years apart.

Elizabeth AUSTIN
born 1972 London UK
Why I wake early 2020
oil on paper
artist collection

An interior and intimate image of my husband asleep as the sun comes streaming in the window at dawn. I rise early every day and look back at this scene - and this has always struck me as a particularly sacred moment of the day.  

The painting is named in response to Mary Oliver’s poem “Why I wake Early” as both the poem and the painting are expressions of gratitude for the dawn, for the sunrise. 

Daniel BUTTERWORTH
born 1973 Kyneton VIC
Self waiting for life to happen number two 2020
acrylic on cardboard
artist collection

This was the second self portrait created reacting to life in isolation. Life is on hold, or is it?

Andrew BENNETT
born 1965 Paddington NSW
Tina's Niece, Skye 2020
acrylic on canvas board
artist collection

I did this work of my student Tina's niece Skye, as a demonstration exercise in laying down a portrait but then felt it had come out well enough to enter this competition.

Tony COSTA
born 1955 Sydney NSW
Claudia Chan Shaw  No 4 2020
oil on canvas
artist collection

I first became aware of Claudia as the co-host of the popular ABC television series Collectors. Claudia and I share an interest in Vintage antiques and 20th century design and in particular the Art Deco period.

Claudia is also co-designer for the fashion label Vivian Chan Shaw.  In the 1930s fabric hues were becoming more subdued, I have reflected this in the colours I have chosen.

I have always been struck by Claudia’s dramatic looks and was attracted to her humour, generosity, composure and humility. I felt a strong affinity with Claudia, which made painting her a joy.

The challenge for me is to trap the energy of my sitter - the emotional feeling over and above the physical reality. Ultimately the invention and the unity of the work is what matters most.

Lileana COLARELLI
born 2000 Brisbane QLD
Sandro Colarelli 2019 
oil on canvas
artist collection

Sandro Colarelli is an award-winning Australian actor, singer and contemporary performance maker. He has dedicated his career to enriching Brisbane’s cultural life by sharing stories through live performance.

The role of an Artist, in his opinion, is to 'provoke, to suggest an alternate view, and (to borrow from Shakespeare), hold a mirror up to nature.' My portrait presents Sandro in a state of performance where conveying the stories and characters he embodies transcends who he is as an individual. 

His perspective on the intertwining nature of art and life, his passionate advocacy for culture and ongoing encouragement to never shy away from exploring new ideas has constantly inspired me, not only as an Artist but also as my Father.

Dagmar CYRULLA
born 1966 Tubrugen GERMANY
Wendy Sharpe 2020
oil on canvas paper
artist collection

I've always found Wendy's work to be energetic, raw, and a direct representation of herself. She is an extraordinary role model for the Australian woman - feminine & strong. It was a privilege to have had the time with Wendy in order to capture her in one of my paintings.

Greg CREEK
born 1959 Horsham VIC
R & R - 1989 2019
oil on canvas
artist collection

R & R - 1989 is a painting of fellow artist and friend Rod McLeish. It pictures an interaction between a young boy and an adult man, perhaps a father, a coach or mentor. They are seemingly interrupted from their exchange as they both turn to regard the viewer.

However what appears to be a palpable exchange is in fact a dialogue between a man and a painted image – an image that may represent a projection or in some sense a younger self.
This is achieved through a play on the notion of the painted ‘ground’, a red-ochre under-stain shared between the internal canvas, the actual canvas and the floor.

The title suggests the painting is a moment outside the present - yet existing as a viewing experience always in the present. The work is a parable-like reflection on perception and meaning in painting and on codes of male vision and experience.

Esther ERLICH
born 1955 Melbourne VIC
Nooch 2020
acrylic on canvas
artist collection

My daughter is gorgeous, vivacious, intelligent, bubbly, warm, hilarious, friendly, slightly judgmental (but in a good way), obliging and a little addicted to her phone. She has also been my muse for ages so when I asked to paint her, naturally she obliged. I did notice however, that this time she was subtly multitasking on her device… so that’s how I painted her!

Tracey DODS
born 1970 Cairns QLD
Freelance 2019
acrylic on canvas
artist collection

My paintings take the viewer on a journey to the inner life of my subjects. The men in suits symbolise the power of governments, big business and the media. The neutrality of the sea allows us to envisage what truly is. The sea washes away all the fussiness of the city so that you can see what is really going on – the machinations of big business, the political manoeuvring and the lack of responsibility. 

My work has always been about social observation, seeing the humour and the hidden desperation of those business men who scurry to and from their offices. I spend a lot of time in Sydney’s Martin Place, watching people, the flow of humanity, noticing their body language. I was inspired by the beautiful and dynamic movement of a flock of bewigged and gowned barristers; the gait of a man in a suit, nearing his retirement.

In the work Freelance he is poised on the edge of the rest of his life, shoes off, briefcase discarded, shoulders back and staring to the horizon. freedom at last to be his own boss and to write his own future.

Craig HANDLEY
born 1964 Sydney NSW
MAKEBELIEVE 4 2020
oil on linen
artist collection

We are all floating in a sea of memories. For my Mum they float up and out of nowhere, disconnected and without logic. Like little islands that are just beyond reach no matter how hard you swim. They are the result of a common history, a bond that weathers time and things unsaid.
And that is that.

Peter GARDINER
born 1965 Geelong VIC 
Untitled 2020
oil on board
artist collection

In an internal landscape, a stage for things to happen. 
It’s just a moment.

Corinna HOWELL
born 1997 Hondo JAPAN
Mum's Cycling Club 2020
acrylic and oil on canvas
artist collection

This is my mother Azusa at 19 years old in her university cycling club. Since I had been meaning to paint this photograph for quite a while, I asked her if I could. My mother hasn’t been back to Tasmania in over a decade since she lived here with me last, but she tells me that in her cycling club days they would travel to many places, and in this case the many districts in Hokkaido, Japan – that of which reminds her of Tasmania. She says that although the winters there are cold it is pleasant in the summer, and as I have never travelled there, I can only think of the snow and winter festivals.

Having heard some context about the photograph it was slightly poignant that it made me feel closer to her through a place I’d never been, simply by her telling me it reminded her of my home. I had been planning to travel there and visit her and family in June of this year.

Here in this painting she rests by the roadside amongst the club’s bicycles, eating her banana with a mid-mouthful grin.

Jacqueline HENNESSY
born 1977 St Leonards NSW
The exchange 2020
oil on linen
artist collection

Can you see me here, in the making of this? In the touch of brush on linen – the paint and the erasure.
The marks of time conjuring this apparition in the translation of self to feeling. I leave my trace in gesture – my hands, my feet, this nuance of expression. This careful choice of dress. I am not here, but in these things I am.

So what is this to you, this exchange? You look at this and what of it – this body, this image? Desire? Indifference? The body and the image are tied to the weight of these. Are we any closer? Can you see me here or have I become your mirror?

Erik KREBS-SCHADE
born 1967 Canberra ACT
The Guy with the Opal Earing 2020
acrylic on canvas
artist collection

Brendan Maclean is an Australian ARIA award nominated songwriter, singer and actor. He cameoed as Klipspringer in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, was a long time presenter for triple j, starred alongside Marcia Hines in the hit musical Velvet and can be seen currently in the ABC comedy F**king Adelaide. Maclean's notable original works include his breakthrough album funbang1, the launchpad for Brendan's globally lauded and deeply unsafe for work music-video House of Air.

A true Renaissance man, I became aware of Brendan’s music through his LGBTQIA+ charity work and his clips for Free to Love and the earlier Paul Mac collaboration called Stupid. We met for the portrait sitting in a huge dark empty community hall in Sydney’s inner west.

Brittany JONES
born 1984 Tampa Florida USA
The Artist's Gaze 2019 
oil, iridescent acrylic and iridescent pigment on panel
artist collection

This was my first self-portrait in over 15 years. It’s based on themes explored in therapy: identity, home, shyness, feeling like an 'object of interest' coming from a bi-ethnic background, being under the constant gaze of others both during and after puberty and not being able to or not wanting to meet that gaze. I wanted to portray the deeply human desire to be seen, as well as my relatively recent willingness to gaze within and truly see and know myself as I am.

The portrait's small size forces the viewer near and invites them to observe me. It’s a challenge to myself to allow my likeness to be gazed upon—albeit by only one or two people at a time. I’m off centre, slightly tentative, but still, I meet the gaze head-on. Unlike the mediaeval Madonna, my gaze is direct. With the spotlight behind me facing the viewer, they are being observed as much as I am.

"Apart from material necessities, the most important need of any human being is to be seen. […] while the desire to be seen is great in all of us, it is countered by an equal force pulling in the opposite direction, which is the desire to be like everyone else. […] To be seen is vital, but not to be seen is vital too. Nothing feels more perilous to us than to be exposed to the attention and gaze of others.”
– Karl Ove Knausgaard, The End: My Struggle Book 6

Kenneth LAMBERT
born 1971 Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA
I see myself reflected in you 2020
silica, carbon pigments, silver biodegradable glitter on plywood board, set in a handmade aluminium frame
artist collection

I am a contemporary artist exploring the human condition through the lens of technology. My work encompasses digital media, expanded painting, installation and sculpture.

This painting is a portrait of my son Myles. It is a fact that we are similar, both with strong-willed and determined personalities. Our shared traits can sometimes cause tension, however during this period of isolation Myles, and I grew closer and found a connection that hasn't been there for some time.

He has my African nose and mouth with his mother's eyes. His gaze is direct, demonstrating both his strength and fragility. Working quickly, I used a flathead screwdriver to scratch his likeness out of the distressed surfaces. The work was created, with energy and speed, and it wasn't until it was complete did I understand its meaning. The next generation is resilient, and they are more conscious of the larger world and intrinsically humanitarian.

This moment in time reflects a similar period in my evolution as a young male where the world around me was experiencing a deep recession, where our dreams seemed unobtainable. The work, in essence, is about resilience in a pervasive atmosphere of considerable uncertainty.

Bronni KRIEGER
born 1964 Mlebourne VIC
The Satin Bowerbird 2019
oil on linen, oak frame
artist collection

My current work is influenced by the parrot in Dutch genre painting of the seventeenth century and its relationship within the family. In The Satin Bowerbird this influence takes on a very personal context and symbolism. It was painted with much affection and a sense of fulfilment as the sitter is my daughter. Painting it, I reflected on her path from adolescence to adulthood.

Upon maturation, the male Satin Bowerbird plumage develops a steel like sheen. This mature plumage expresses the sense of my daughter’s journey into adulthood. I also wanted to mimic the sheen of the plumage by emphasising the blue-black brilliance in her satin gown. The subjects' smile expresses a sense of this positive time in her life, ready to embark upon her future and, along with the bird on her head, a sense of her whimsical personality.

Joshua MCPHERSON
born 1977 Nepean NSW
Portrait of Meg 2020
oil on linen
artist collection 

I first met Meg when she modelled for my weekly portrait class. My students and I immediately found her to be a breath of fresh air. Such a great attitude to life at a time when she was experiencing significant change and complexities in her life. I knew immediately I would like to have her pose privately for a portrait. When Meg arrived for the first session I was inspired by her youthful slightly "edgy, grunge" look contrasted with her beautiful Indian jewellery passed down from her Mother. I found the juxtaposition between her attire quite fascinating and intriguing. I sought to capture a young woman of today but still respectful of her family tradition and heritage. This was Megs first time posing in a private studio and I feel that the portrait captures her initial slight coyness but a willingness to embrace herself in the portrait painting process.

Kerry MCINNIS
born 1952 Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Watch and Act 2020
acrylic on canvas
artist collection

Images of the recent bushfires are seared into our collective memory. I have referenced several photos from this time and made a composite image of bushfire fighters in action. Everything that his country has experienced in 2020 seems overwhelming, formidable, insurmountable, huge. I wanted to shrink it all down onto a small canvas in the hopes that we could comprehend better the enormity of it all.

Lori PENSINI
born 1970 Narrogin WA
The Calling 2020 
oil on linen
artist collection

I fear we have lost sight of our planetary obligations in favour of incredulous economic growth and fortification. This painting calls to attention our role as custodians of the landscape, to retract, rethink and reconnect. The kingfisher, likened to the mouse and the lion fable, insistently pulls at the sleeve of the girl, imploring her to hearken the song of the land as it calls her back through its wanting plains and scoured hinterlands in need of nourishment. She wears a dress of banksia blooms, metaphors for the women of her kin, of the founding hands, and the intimate generational bonds cultivated in the love of landscape. A cultivation that threatens to precariously unravel if we continue on as we are, blindsided.

Anh NGUYEN
born 1984 Melbourne VIC
Self portrait in old tshirt (and scowl) 2020
acrylic on canvas
artist collection 

My paintings are a response to the visual excitement found in life; my motifs revolve around daily rhythms, human activity and small moments. I am interested in finding that space between perceptual painting and something more abstract, and using colour relationship and shapes to describe the effects of light. Self portrait in old tshirt (and scowl) depicts me in my home studio, under evening lights. I painted a scowl as a private joke with myself (intending to 'fix' it later), probably because I prefer painting in natural light and was slightly frustrated with the situation, also the effects of being at home during the Covid-19 pandemic while also trying to maintain painting life, home schooling, pre schooling, other job etc... but then afterwards my partner commented that I should leave the expression as is, and I agreed.

Jordan RICHARDSON
born 1993 Hornsby NSW
The Dunce 2020
oil on panel
artist collection

This painting came about after dealing with some short comings and feeling completely inadequate. It’s a self portrait. The act of creating one is quite odd. Starring at a mirror so hard that you begin to lose any sense of self and just see the face objectively, without attachment. Perhaps creating this painting was cathartic, I’m not sure, but I do believe it’s revealing and honest.

Melissa RITCHIE
born 1978 Brunswick, Georgia USA
Misguided Guru for the Socially Unaware (Portrait of Arj Barker) 2019
oil and gold foil on board
artist collection

Arj Barker is an American comedian who has made his name (and home) in Australia. I’ve been a fan of Arj’s for many years. I absolutely loved his cameos in Flight of the Conchords TV series. Last year he won an Aria for his comedy album ‘Organic’. I was thrilled when he agreed to sit for this portrait. 

Aussie's love Arj. As an outsider he gives Aussies satirical advice based on humorous observations, with a twist of ridiculousness. This makes him the 'Misguided Guru for the Socially Unaware'. Arj is the eight comedian I have painted, as part of a series of portraits that showcase their unique comedic perspective. I have painted Arj as the 'Jester' tarot card, complete with motifs and gold guilding. The book, flower and domestic pets are traditional motifs in a Jester tarot card. These are Arj’s own French Bulldogs. The Poppy is the floral emblem of his home state California. He sits in a traditional guru pose with his fingers crossed as both a promise and a lie.

Ben RYAN
born 1992 Sydney NSW
View From My Window; Self (Isolation) Portrait 2020
oil on board
artist collection

This is a self portrait completed during a stretch of isolation in my apartment. The palette was intended to contain something of the bleak feeling that was pervasive, but with moments of colour. The bare brick wall outside of my window seemed a suitably cheerless backdrop, but also became the strongest source of light.

Lynn SAVERY
born 1960 Brighton Sussex ENGLAND
The Wanderer 2020
oil on canvas
artist collection

What is she like?
    I was told–
    she is a melancholy soul.
She is like
    the sun to night; 
        a momentary gold.
A star when dimmed 
        by dawning light; 
        the flicker of a candle blown.
A lonely kite
        lost in flight–
        someone once had flown. 
                                         Lang Leav

I live in a world in which I explore the relationship between truth, fiction, modes of dress and the formation of personal identity. It’s also a world in which I make the familiar seem a little strange and sometimes create new worlds altogether. A preoccupation with the unexpected, the humorous and the absurd also permeates my work. Above all, I love to tell stories with my work and let the viewer find their own.

An SHENG
born 1988 Shanghai CHINA
Shadow (self-portrait) 2020
oil on linen
artist collection

The idea of self-portrait came from the current emergent affair of corona plague. When the increasing cases of virus infection caused massive anxiety and panic emotion from the society, some of the major media came out with very irresponsible and radical headlines by targeting the minority ethnical groups, rendering lots of distrust and isolation among people. 
By colouring a large area of dark tone and composing calm atmosphere, the painting tries to depict the moment of lying in bed with a myriad of thoughts at dead of night.  The controversial media content with the light source from mobile is cast on the glasses, telling the uneasiness and the worries I had been experienced.

Wendy SHARPE
born 1960 Sydney NSW
Self Portrait as Circus Banner 2019
acrylic on linen
artist collection

All though the situation for women in the visual arts has improved over the years, there is still significant gender disparity in representation, gender price gap and in many other categories.  There are also issues when you are no longer an emerging artist.
This painting is a satirical take on myself as a kind of side show oddity as a mid-career female artist, who is a painter.

It is based on vintage fairground / circus banners of so called ‘freaks’ or oddities. A lot of these banners are rather tongue in cheek.

I am sure this image is something many women will identify with, even those are not an artist who is no longer young and just happen to be a woman

Kylie Melinda SMITH
born 1969 Sydney NSW
Sue Healey 2020
oil on linen
artist collection

Sue Healey is a multi-award-winning choreographer, dancer, educator, filmmaker, and installation artist.
Based in Sydney, Healey is an acknowledged pioneer of dance on screen. Her films are widely acclaimed and have won many awards, screening in over 30 countries.  

Of her work Healey states, “I create dance that acknowledges the potency of the human body to take us into the realm of the extraordinary. I am committed to creating a theatrical language that inspires and transforms, revealing subtle layers of movement and perception. I believe dance to be vital human research” 

In painting this portrait, my desire was to capture Sue moving through an unrehearsed moment. To showcase her energy and emotional poise, whilst not losing sight of the subtle yet overtly powerful movements she made with her body as she danced towards the light.

Oliver SHEPHERD
born 1985 Adelaide SA
The Proposal (Portrait of the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG) 2019
oil on canvas
artist collection

The meaning of ‘The Proposal’ is two-fold.

Firstly, it is about the proposal that was put to the nation that marriage equality might be realized in Australia. This is symbolized by the marriage equality survey paper and envelope placed under Michael’s poised pen. It also embodies the decision that Michael and Johan were grappling with at the time – to boycott the controversial survey in protest of its divisiveness, or to pragmatically swallow the last bitter pill and focus on the achievement that was now within reach.

Second, it is about the proposal that traditionally leads to marriage, in this case the marriage of Michael and Johan which, at the time, was not yet possible under Australian law. This is represented by the two wedding bands placed beside the survey rather than on the sitter’s ring-finger – symbols of a desired but then uncertain future.

The proposal has been a labour of love for the last three years, all the while the marriage equality debate, survey, enactment, and Michael's subsequent marriage to Johan. It is filled with symbolism, both on the subject of marriage equality and on Michael himself. The composition, meant to impress upon the viewer the weight of knowledge and experience behind the decision being contemplated, is portrayed in contrasting colour and sepia tones representing tradition and progressiveness operating together.