WEBVTT
1
00:00:02.690 --> 00:00:04.210 line:15%
Entering the Darling Portrait Prize
2
00:00:04.210 --> 00:00:06.480 line:15%
and my painting of Wendy Bowman.
3
00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.820 line:15%
I met Wendy last year.
4
00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:13.170 line:15%
I had been looking for interesting people
5
00:00:13.170 --> 00:00:18.170 line:15%
in my local area that do amazing things,
6
00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:21.163 line:15%
and Wendy's name had continuously popped up.
7
00:00:22.835 --> 00:00:24.280 line:15%
And then I went round to see her,
8
00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.240 line:15%
and actually it astounded me
9
00:00:26.240 --> 00:00:28.880 line:15%
when I really got the full story of who she was
10
00:00:28.880 --> 00:00:30.720 line:15%
and what she had been doing.
11
00:00:30.720 --> 00:00:35.620
Wendy has been an advocate
12
00:00:35.620 --> 00:00:39.680
for the environment for 30, 40 years,
13
00:00:39.680 --> 00:00:43.371
and she's obviously gained a great reputation,
14
00:00:43.371 --> 00:00:46.730
she started the organisation, Lock the Gate,
15
00:00:46.730 --> 00:00:49.090
which was about the mining corporations that are able
16
00:00:49.090 --> 00:00:54.090
to just walk onto farm lands and acquire these properties,
17
00:00:54.410 --> 00:00:55.710
which had happened to Wendy,
18
00:00:55.710 --> 00:00:59.460
she'd actually, one of her first properties
19
00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:01.160 line:15%
had been acquired and she'd been kicked
20
00:01:01.160 --> 00:01:06.020 line:15%
off that original property, and then she went
21
00:01:06.020 --> 00:01:10.140 line:15%
on to another one and the mining companies acquired
22
00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:11.730 line:15%
that property as well.
23
00:01:11.730 --> 00:01:13.510 line:15%
And then the third time, came around
24
00:01:13.510 --> 00:01:15.110 line:15%
and Wendy just said, "I've had enough of this,"
25
00:01:15.110 --> 00:01:17.460 line:15%
and she actually said, that's when she took it
26
00:01:17.460 --> 00:01:19.080 line:15%
to the Land and Environment Court,
27
00:01:19.080 --> 00:01:21.930 line:15%
and that was a big battle, but she actually won,
28
00:01:21.930 --> 00:01:24.430 line:15%
which was the first case that ever beaten
29
00:01:24.430 --> 00:01:25.617 line:15%
a the mining company to say that,
30
00:01:25.617 --> 00:01:27.610 line:15%
"You could not acquire that property."
31
00:01:27.610 --> 00:01:29.780 line:15%
So she was the perfect candidate for a portrait.
32
00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:33.773 line:15%
She is a very strong woman,
33
00:01:34.820 --> 00:01:37.330 line:15%
she's got incredible character
34
00:01:37.330 --> 00:01:40.010 line:15%
and painting her was an absolute joy.
35
00:01:40.010 --> 00:01:45.010 line:15%
So my 20 odd years of photography, I spent several times,
36
00:01:45.010 --> 00:01:46.470 line:15%
I went round to see Wendy
37
00:01:46.470 --> 00:01:50.120 line:15%
and I shot several different portraits,
38
00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:52.950 line:15%
and I guess over that time, you get to know
39
00:01:52.950 --> 00:01:54.850 line:15%
your subject a little bit more and more,
40
00:01:54.850 --> 00:01:55.890 line:15%
and that's what it's all about,
41
00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:58.450 line:15%
so that when you go back and you're looking at
42
00:01:58.450 --> 00:01:59.980 line:15%
which photos you want to work from,
43
00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:02.410 line:15%
there's a photo that stands out and gives you,
44
00:02:02.410 --> 00:02:04.720 line:15%
I guess, the most about that person.
45
00:02:04.720 --> 00:02:06.340 line:15%
And there was one picture in particular,
46
00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:08.790 line:15%
although I'd cropped in quite heavily,
47
00:02:08.790 --> 00:02:11.580 line:15%
it was that picture, that stance that she had
48
00:02:11.580 --> 00:02:12.896 line:15%
that really set it off for me.
49
00:02:12.896 --> 00:02:16.323 line:15%
And so that's how I got to the painting that I did.
50
00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:22.040 line:15%
That's awesome, yeah.
51
00:02:22.040 --> 00:02:24.140 line:15%
I mean, I think you remember at the opening and stuff.
52
00:02:24.140 --> 00:02:26.380 line:15%
It was a really popular work and people
53
00:02:26.380 --> 00:02:27.997 line:15%
were getting photos taken with it.
54
00:02:27.997 --> 00:02:30.950 line:15%
And it certainly got a lot of comments
55
00:02:30.950 --> 00:02:34.230 line:15%
in the time we were open before we shut down.
56
00:02:34.230 --> 00:02:36.390 line:15%
But we've actually got a little sneaky surprise
57
00:02:36.390 --> 00:02:38.780 line:15%
for you as well, some good news is
58
00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:40.790 line:15%
that you have won the People's Choice Award
59
00:02:40.790 --> 00:02:43.320 line:15%
for the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize.
60
00:02:43.320 --> 00:02:44.457 line:15%
Kidding me right?
61
00:02:44.457 --> 00:02:45.290 line:15%
I'm not kidding (chuckling)
62
00:02:45.290 --> 00:02:48.800 line:15%
(laughing loudly) Yes!
63
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:50.831 line:15%
Well, that's fabulous news.
64
00:02:50.831 --> 00:02:52.600 line:15%
I've got goosebumps.
65
00:02:52.600 --> 00:02:55.600 line:15%
I kid you not, that's...
66
00:02:55.600 --> 00:02:57.680 line:15%
I'm shocked, I'm shocked.
67
00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.360 line:15%
I am shocked because there was
68
00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:04.360 line:15%
so many incredible portraits in that competition.
69
00:03:04.590 --> 00:03:08.970 line:15%
I was overwhelmed to be part of it, to be honest.
70
00:03:08.970 --> 00:03:10.720 line:15%
I thought the competition
71
00:03:10.720 --> 00:03:12.570 line:15%
and the standard was incredibly high,
72
00:03:13.430 --> 00:03:16.150 line:15%
some great subjects and some incredible painters.
73
00:03:16.150 --> 00:03:19.790 line:15%
So I'm a little bit lost for words
74
00:03:19.790 --> 00:03:21.500 line:15%
because that's incredible news.
75
00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:24.270 line:15%
And now, I mean, I'm trying to sync it,
76
00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:25.530 line:15%
I'm trying to take it in as well,
77
00:03:25.530 --> 00:03:28.220 line:15%
that I've also won the People's Choice
78
00:03:28.220 --> 00:03:29.530 line:15%
in two different categories
79
00:03:29.530 --> 00:03:31.945 line:15%
at the National Portrait Gallery. (laughing)
80
00:03:31.945 --> 00:03:32.930 line:15%
You're well loved here!
81
00:03:32.930 --> 00:03:35.030 line:15%
So your prize as well is actually,
82
00:03:35.030 --> 00:03:39.090 line:15%
so the prize is $10,000 thanks to the generous support
83
00:03:39.090 --> 00:03:40.880 line:15%
of the Liangis family as well.
84
00:03:40.880 --> 00:03:44.280 line:15%
So I'm sure that'll come in handy during these times?
85
00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:45.210 line:15%
Oh, absolutely.
86
00:03:45.210 --> 00:03:49.120 line:15%
That, if anyone that really knows me,
87
00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:53.550 line:15%
of course I've had great success in an outwardly,
88
00:03:53.550 --> 00:03:56.000 line:15%
wild, as the wide society looks,
89
00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:58.760 line:15%
but it's never been about money from my end.
90
00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:01.700 line:15%
So my priorities have always been about my art first
91
00:04:01.700 --> 00:04:03.390 line:15%
and foremost, even back in the very beginning,
92
00:04:03.390 --> 00:04:05.160 line:15%
when I would eat two minute noodles
93
00:04:05.160 --> 00:04:06.530 line:15%
and stay on the ride and just make sure
94
00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:08.810 line:15%
I had the best film and my cameras
95
00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:10.180 line:15%
and as I started with the painting,
96
00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:11.497 line:15%
I started my painting career saying,
97
00:04:11.497 --> 00:04:14.350 line:15%
"I just want the best paints and the best linens and..."
98
00:04:14.350 --> 00:04:15.810 line:15%
All that good quality stuff.
99
00:04:15.810 --> 00:04:20.810 line:15%
And you cherish the idea that my work will represent
100
00:04:21.030 --> 00:04:23.530 line:15%
who I am more than the money I might doing it.
101
00:04:23.530 --> 00:04:27.540 line:15%
So this will be incredibly helpful to me.
102
00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:30.500 line:15%
We're just about to potentially acquire a new property
103
00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:33.230 line:15%
that will allow me to have a decent-sized studio,
104
00:04:33.230 --> 00:04:34.860 line:15%
because I'm painting in the back
105
00:04:34.860 --> 00:04:35.850 line:15%
of that little gallery here,
106
00:04:35.850 --> 00:04:37.040 line:15%
and I've only got a small space,
107
00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.230 line:15%
so that's just awesome, that's awesome.
108
00:04:40.230 --> 00:04:41.980 line:15%
I'm glad it'll help your practice so much.
109
00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:43.650 line:15%
That's the thing it's gonna assist you really,
110
00:04:43.650 --> 00:04:45.480 line:15%
to just keep telling those stories
111
00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:47.330 line:15%
that you tell us through portraiture.
112
00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:50.240 line:15%
I am really overwhelmed by this,
113
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.060 line:15%
And I thank you to everyone,
114
00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:53.710 line:15%
thank you to everyone that voted.
115
00:04:54.910 --> 00:04:56.540 line:15%
Wendy is an amazing woman.
116
00:04:56.540 --> 00:05:00.050 line:15%
It's funny, I kinda came back from the Darling Prize,
117
00:05:00.050 --> 00:05:02.960 line:15%
so inspired by the work that was there.
118
00:05:02.960 --> 00:05:05.520 line:15%
I've actually completed my painting already
119
00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:07.430 line:15%
because I just wanted to come back
120
00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:09.060 line:15%
and get working on it already.
121
00:05:09.060 --> 00:05:11.600 line:15%
And I feel I've created a,
122
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.630 line:15%
I'm really proud of the new painting I've done,
123
00:05:13.630 --> 00:05:17.373 line:15%
so I can't wait to submit that later in the year. (chuckles)