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Bill Leak talks with Magda Keaney about
his portrait of Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes -
Nothing if not critical 2001
by Bill Leak (b. 1956)
oil on canvas
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2002
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So those characteristics were something you wanted
to communicate in the portrait?
Yes. I thought, 'I really want this to come out. I want him as I know
him to be in the portrait.' And when I looked at that study I just thought
it wasn't there, that strength, that real fighter quality that he's
got. He really is a tenacious bastard, and he's bloody tough. I mean,
he's physically tough to have survived the ordeal in the first place;
he's intellectually tough, because he thinks for himself. His opinions
come from his head. He's a very original thinker, and he's a wonderful
analyst of art.
So there I was in Narrandera at about 2.30 in the morning with this
brilliant flash of inspiration. I could see the painting in my head
and that's what really counts. It's a little bit like doing cartoons.
You know there's an idea there somewhere, and as soon as you see it
in your head, then you're away. I saw this painting in my head and I
thought, 'I've got to have him emerging out of the blackness'.
So I woke both of my kids up - they weren't very happy - and I said,
'Listen, you guys, I've got the idea for Bob's painting. We're going
to head back to Sydney and I'll start it today.' They said, 'Oh, come
on, Dad. Give us a break. Can't you just get up in the morning?' I said,
'No, we'll go now and you guys can sleep in the car.' And so we drove
back to Sydney, and we got into Sydney by about 9 or 10 o'clock in the
morning. I dropped the boys and I came back here and I started work
on the portrait. I just drew the thing up really, really quickly and
I just knew exactly what I wanted and away I went. |
