portrait

The Waiting Game: Still Not As Fun As Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Painting

Today I dropped off my Moran Prize portrait of Dave Collins for the final stage of judging. Tomorrow was the last day to deliver paintings for round two so naturally I left it ’til the second last day.

I find out on the 2nd of July if I am in the list of finalists. This means Dry July may be broken early because I drink Champagne or Dry July may be broken because I’ll be drenched crying in the shower again.

If you want to see the full list of semi-finalists click this link.

If you’d prefer to wait to see the show here is a link to a skater falling off his board and crunching his nuts on a pole.

YOU CAN ONLY PICK ONE!

And here is a photo of me delivering said portrait at 12:42pm for your enjoyment, also for an alibi… look how happy and murder-free I look here.

A big thanks to Jessica Bellamy for helping me deliver the painting.

More More Moran!

Painting, This is Interesting

I was informed that my Doug Moran Portraiture Prize entry has been selected for the 2nd stage of judging. The judges were Christopher Menz and Vincent Fantauzzo which is very exiting as Fantauzzo’s work has dominated the portraiture scene in Australia in the last few years and it’s so cool to have him select my work for further viewing. The next step is having Gandalf select me in a beard competition.

The finalists will be announced on the 2nd of July.

David Collins and Daffy Duck have more in common than may first meet the eye. Artist Edmund Iffland has captured Collins’ unique mode of physical performance in the style of Chuck Jones’ 1953 classic Duck Auck – an homage in colour and style to a cartoon that both the artist and performer hold dear. Painted in Acrylic and ink on canvas this work resembles a massive animation cel.

…And I’ll Show You Mine.

Painting

In two days the finalists for the Archibald Prize will be announced. I’ve been working on my portrait of Dave since last October. I wanted to paint up ’til the due date to exhaust all artistic possibilities, where I didn’t want to just settle for a painting I was happy with, and I am very aware of the potential magic that 5am brings. It just so happens that my final painting spread it’s wings and ‘became Dave’ somewhere between 3 and 5 in the morning two days before it’s submission. The photograph featured below is my final portrait of Dave on it’s way to meet the packers. It is titled “So Tired!” as it was painted during the last 2 months of Dave’s insomnia and every sitting was organised between trips overseas to perform with Shane for the Umbilical Brothers. It represents the exhaustion of performing in such a physical performance while suffering from insomnia. It also maintains Dave’s sense of humor.

This photo (below) was taken in my studio just before leaving for the gallery. The final decision was between these two works. The other is (also 1m x 2m) titled “Dave Amuck”. It is a reference to the Chuck Jones short “Duck Amuck”  where the animator edits the cartoon as it rolls. It seemed to typify so many of Dave’s characters but in the end we picked “So Tired!” which is coincidentally how I felt at the end of the process.

I’m looking forward to seeing who/what get’s selected. It’s been an eye opening process and what ever happens on Thursday I’m very proud of the work I’ve produced. The play that started it all is having a second run at the Sidetrack Theatre in Marrickville. Tickets are on sale.

Archibald Entry Submitted…

Painting

Two bottles of Irish Whiskey, half a bottle of rum, two cases of beer, an insufficient amount of sleep and three months later… My Archibald entry is complete. Dave Collins came around to my studio today, I made a shortlist of portraits and we decided together which one was to be submitted. I was very proud of the shortlist and was delighted with my final submission. More importantly Dave has given it his tick of approval.

Dave was a dynamic person to paint. It’s rare to get a subject who holds so much character in his entire body. The painting is life-size and quite bold. I decided not to feature it in the photo above because it’s a full on nude it’s best displayed on a gallery wall… an art gallery wall… an Art Gallery of New South Wales wall… eh eh. Come on Edmund Capon we have the same name!

You will all find out by the end of the month if I’m in the shower crying.

I now have a studio full of David Collins portraits, it looked a little obsessive for a while there. I was told that I should take a break right after I made a portrait of Dave out of mashed potato.

Fingers crossed.