Artist makes semi-finals

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Artist makes semi-finals

INVERLOCH artist John Mutsaers was a semi-finalist in the richest portrait prize in the southern hemisphere.

His oil painting of his son was among the 100 works to make the semi-finals of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize from 1100 portraits entered from across Australia.

He was hoping to make the final 30 but that was not to be this year.

“I would have really loved to have made the final 30 because that means you get published in the final book and the exhibition goes around Australia and that’s valuable for me,” Mr Mutsaers said.

First prize is $150,000 and is exhibited permanently as part of the Moran Arts Foundation Collection.

Mr Mutsaers’ entry Michael-John depicted his son Michael-John Mutsaers on a tall canvas, 175cm high by one metre wide.

Mr Mutsaers was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Doug Moran Portrait Prize with a portrait of his student and this year is the fourth time he has entered.

His latest work depicts his son standing in a meadow with his shoes off, showing Michael-John as grounded and also his love of shoes. By looking down, the pose shows he’s reflective and that’s why family and friends turn to him for advice.

“Painting my son Michael-John gave me the time and opportunity to spent more time with him, not only as artist and sitter, but also father and son,” Mr Mutsaers said.

“Mike’s intelligence, humor and insightfulness simply emanate from him. He has travelled on a reflective journey through difficult times in his life, arriving here with profound confidence.

“Like the painters in my Dutch heritage, I too like to paint narrative. I chose to place Mike barefoot in a lush green landscape to represent his new found grounding. He stands tall, feet firmly placed. I have endeavored to capture in Mike’s expression his strength and insightfulness.”

The work is done in a realist impressionist style.

“There are parts that are quite loose and there are parts that are a little bit tighter because they needed it,” Mr Mutsaers said.

The most important part of a painting, Mr Mutsaers said, is the narrative – what viewers read into it.

“I’m quite happy for people to walk away with the wrong idea,” he said.

The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is held at Juniper Hall, Sydney, New South Wales.

 

 

Artist’s perception: John Mutsaer’s entry in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Michael-John. Photo: Drift Media.

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Posted by on Oct 30 2018. Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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