Talking with Painters

Since episode 87 the world has changed.

Those huge changes to our whole society and way of life, brought about by the threat of COVID-19, have coincided with the opening of Peter O’Doherty’s show at…

Davida Allen and William Robinson, two of Australia’s leading painters, are not only both Archibald winners and Queenslanders but have been friends for over 40 years.

Although they share their thoug…

Few other artists have captured Australia’s imagination quite like Ian Fairweather.

This is the second part of a double episode on this 20^th century artist. In the last episode I interviewed Claire …

Learning about someone through their letters is a fascinating exercise and this is precisely what Claire Roberts set out to do when she amassed over 700 letters of the celebrated 20th century artist …

Stepping into David Griggs’ Sydney studio in the lead up to his show at Roslyn Oxley9 gallery was a sensory experience.

The scale of his paintings is large and the colour is bold. The word ‘psychedel…

Driving to Philip Wolfhagen’s home outside Launceston, Tasmania, was a dreamlike experience. Unlike the dry landscape of drought-affected NSW (we recorded before the onset of the bushfire crisis), th…

Looking back at the artists of 2019!

Listen to this podcast episode for highlights of my conversations with the amazing Australian painters listed below. Click on the artist’s name to hear the full i…

This is not the first time curator Lisa Slade has brought the paintings of Ben Quilty to viewers in Australia, but of those previous exhibitions none has had the depth and breadth of the survey show…

If you are interested in the arts in Australia you will know of Ben Quilty. He is one of the country’s most acclaimed contemporary artists.

In the last 15 years he has shot to prominence not just as …

During the Cold War, the Soviet Bloc and the West were separated in various ways but probably none so dramatically as the Berlin Wall. Erected in 1961, it separated East and West Germans for 28 years…

Tom Carment has been painting and writing for over 45 years but it was in his mid twenties that he decided his work would be created solely from life. Changing light and weather conditions, sitter fa…

As a child, it never occurred to Susan Baird that she might one day be a painter.

She left school at 16 and, after a year of study, found a job working for a graphic designer who also enjoyed paintin…

Tim Storrier’s work sweeps you into his imagination: burning ropes in the desert, clothes wrapped around a torso-shaped void, mood-filled skies with clouds that go on forever.

One of Australia’s pre…

Nicole Kelly is one of Australia’s most interesting emerging artists. Her landscapes and portraits are filled with reminiscence and emotion.

She’s had 10 solo shows, has won the coveted Brett Whitel…

Here’s your guide to the paintings of the 13 podcast guests whose works were shortlisted in the 2019 Archibald prize. Go to episodes 72 and 73 for the Wynne and Sulman guides!

Click here for an overv…

Here’s your guide to the paintings of the seven podcast guests whose works were shortlisted in the 2019 Wynne prize. Go to episodes 72 and 74 for the Sulman and Archibald guides!

Click the play butto…

Here’s your guide to the paintings of the six podcast guests whose works were shortlisted in the 2019 Sir John Sulman prize. Go to episodes 73 and 74 for the Wynne and Archibald guides!

Click here fo…

This year twenty podcast guests were selected as finalists in the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman prizes, which are exhibited every year at the Art Gallery of NSW, with a total of 26 paintings between t…

Tony Costa says winning the Archibald makes the invisible artist visible but you wouldn’t have called him invisible before he won the prize this year. 

He’s been painting for over 50 years, and in a…

Neil Frazer is a landscape painter but don’t expect pictures of rolling hills or calming seascapes.

His powerful work depicts the harsh and dangerous environments in our world, where the sea smashes…