Harry Kent, Brett at the Opera House, ink on paper, 26x34cm
This drawing is another ink sketch in the series (here) commenced in the new year. These are all prelimnary exploratory sketches for an intended series of oil paintings about/around Brett Whiteley.
Brett Whiteley started to paint the Sydney Opera House in 1971 while it was still being built. He had just returned from New York and was now living at Lavender Bay from where the Opera House was clearly visible.
Brett Whiteley, Opera House, 1982,
oil and mixed media on canvas, 203x244cm [image link from artquotes.net]
The painting was first exhibited in 1972, but in 1982, after some additional touches, BW gave it to Qantas (the Oz airline) in exchange for free air travel. They decorated their club lounge at Sydney airport with it for almost 20 years before selling it off at auction.
While some see this image as a menacing mass of shark fins, i see it as an exuberant, optimistic, flamboyant, crazy work of celebration. It makes one as happy as seeing the Opera House sparkle on a sunny Sydney day. Yet in so many of the photos of Brett Whiteley he looks serious, troubled, depressed, while his writings are peppered with commentaries on existential despair. So i wanted to bring the two together to celebrate that mysterious relationship which exists between an artist and his or her work. In our understanding, the two often inform each other.
Yet ultimately, the art can't be explained away by knowing the man, nor the man analysed away by knowing his art (Freud's musings on Leonardo border on being silly). Knowing BW had a heroin addiction or a psychotic episode helps get an angle on a few of his works but it hardly explains his talent as an artist.
You can see BW at work and hear him talk about portrait painting in this clip:
In essence, i am using photos of him and his journals and biographical information to construct my own 'Brett'. To those who knew him well, my construction may be way off the mark.
Which is all beside the point.
For me, the notion of Brett represents something about Australia, about painting, about artists, about critics, about life, love, suffering and celebration, and the questing of the human spirit.
My 'Brett' is a symbol, an icon, a talisman. And in this series i am working out for myself just what that talisman means ... with an audience looking on.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley 7, ink on paper, 59 x 42 cm
I have started work on a series of paintings and drawings exploring my personal response to that great Australian artist, Brett Whiteley.
In July 2010 I posted a blog in memory of Brett Whiteley. Now that I had had visitors to this blog from 121 countries i thought that this was an excellent opportunity to introduce the amazing Brett to bloggers around the world who may not have heard of him.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley 1, ink on paper, 59 x 42 cm
I've commenced my excursion into Brett Whiteley using ink and paper. These are preliminary drawings to get me thinking visually about Brett prior to commencing a series of oil paintings. For paper i am using a cheap 110gsm acid free cartridge paper. If these sketches start to show any promise, i may switch to rice paper, Arches or Fabriano. For now, i feel i have total liberty and feel dubious about even showing these early explorations in this blog. But hey, we are all visual artists and like to see work in progress.
Harry Kent, Brett at the Opera House, ink on paper, 59x42cm
go to here
Why ink? It was a medium he used often. Brett described pen and ink as,
"The great unalterable
like sensitive harmonicas
that die of a broken heart
pens love the test of violation".
Yes, the great unalterable. I love that ink is permanent. There is no fiddling. It's a 'one-chance' sort of mark-making. It is like a sword thrust - either a palpable hit or a miss.
As a Zen saying has it,
"When you walk, walk.
When you sit, sit.
Above all, don't wobble".
I love that there is no pre-drawing with a pencil. There is no safety net. ("Have you ever seen a pencil drawing that wasn't safe?", he once asked in a notebook). All my 'errors' are in plain sight. Yet the accumulation of errors can sometimes be so telling, somes so beautiful in their own way.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley opens up,
ink and charcoal on paper, 59x42 cm
These sketches were made using a reed pen that i made for myself from rushes growing by the Tamar River. I also used a goat hair Japanese calligraphy brush to help me get in touch with Brett. He so loved to work with Japanese brushes in the spirit of Zen.
But while i may use the media and something resembling his tools to get 'in the zone', I will not attempt to parrot his style. Brett could do Brett far better than i could ever hope to. All i can do is what i do.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley, Antipodean Explorer,
ink on paper, 59 x 42 cm
In the series i am now embarking upon i don't claim to produce portrait likenesses of Brett Whiteley. Does that matter? (See my discussion of portraiture and likeness here). These works will not be painted from life. They will, in part, be inspired by photos of the man. Does that matter? (See my discussion of portrait painting derived from photography here). These works aim to be expressive. They will be works of my imagination rather than likenesses. They represent what Brettness means to me, what it fires in my own imagination.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley blue,
ink and pastel on paper, 59x42cm
Initially they will be inspired by his art and by his writing. Ultimately, the images will derive solely from my imagination without reference to anything he has done or any image made of him.
They will be about his fate. They will be about suffering, and courage, and the triumph of creative genius over all that binds the human spirit.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley's Crown of Thorns,
ink on paper, 59x42 cm. go to here
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley in the storm,
ink and chalk on paper, 59x42cm. go to here
In essence, i am using photos of him and his journals and biographical information to construct my own 'Brett'. To those who knew him well, my construction may be way off the mark.
Which is all beside the point.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley Shipwrecked,
ink on paper, 59x42cm. go to here
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley contemplates old age,
pen on paper, 27x23cm. go to here
See too my most recent Whiteley ink Apparitions, like the one below, HERE.
Harry Kent, Brett Whiteley's apparition #4, ink on paper, 56x76cm.
For me, the notion of Brett represents something about Australia, about painting, about artists, about critics, about life, love, suffering and celebration, and the questing of the human spirit.
My 'Brett' is a symbol, an icon, a talisman. And in this series i am working out for myself just what that talisman means ... with an audience looking on.
I've embedded a clip of BW at work and play for those who would like see him in action.
the other day i kindly received an invitation to join Julie Kay's portrait painting group on Flickr.
the idea is that one sends in photos of oneself, and then paints and posts portraits of the others who have sent in their photos. The huge attraction for this blogger is that NO SELF-PORTRAITS ARE ALLOWED!
The whole thing is a lot of fun, with 231(last count) talented members creating a constant stream of brilliant, clever, humorous, beautiful, dramatic, whimsical, insightful, inventive portraits in every imaginable style. Thanks Julia for organising it all.
yahooooo, a holiday for me, and for you, gentle reader, from morbid introspection (it is actually my semester break).
so here are some of the paintings and drawings i completed and posted on the Painters Party over the last few days. They are a mixed bag because i'm using the oppotunity to motivate me to revisit some of my older styles of working and to try out some new ones.
Currently undertaking a Master of Contemporary Arts degree focusing on expressive mark-making in portrait painting with the School of Visual & Performing Arts, Univerity of Tasmania. In a previous incarnation Harry was a psychologist and educator researching personality and psycho-social climate of groups, for which he was awarded a PhD, but he gladly gave up teaching and conferencing to become a mumbling recluse dabbling in oils
Visitors are most welcome to link to any of my work in their blogs and websites provided my authorship is acknowledged in each instance. No permission need be obtained, though I would appreciate knowing that you have done so.
Vistors may also download a copy of any image of my work for their own personal, non-commercial use.
Educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities, their staff and their students, are free to copy and display my work for educational purposes.
Images may not be reproduced or transmitted to third parties, either electronically or in printed format, without my express consent.
My consent must be sought for any print publication of an image of my work.
Use of any of my work for any commercial purpose without a contractual agreement with myself is strictly forbidden. Please contact me here or at kentha@utas.edu.au if you wish to enter into some commercial arrangement over my work.
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