12 huge portraits of East Gippslanders (2.20m high by 1.50m large) will be exhibited in East Gippsland Art Gallery in March next year. 6 of them will hang by the windows and will look at the passers by in Nicholson street, the other 6 will look at the visitors inside the gallery.

The portraits will be painted using Chinese ink on multiple paper panels and the end result will look a bit like this.

I am currently working on the portrait of a fantastic woman I have met during my residency last August and the one of her husband. As you might already know, I am based in Sydney, and can't really afford to go back and forth to East Gippsland for the portrait studies I should ideally do. So I have had to improvise and work differently from the classic approach to portraiture.

Purists will roll their eyes, some might lost sleep over it, others might think it will bring me bad juju. Nonetheless, here is the truth:

I work from photos

WHAAAAT??

Yes, you've heard me, I do work from pictures (!), or photographies, pics if you prefer. And yes, I do know it is not Archibald Prize standardised procedure, but in order to achieve such goal, one must be flexible every now and then!

For those who can't bear the thought, be reassured, there will also be some of my landscapes and textile works on display.

If you get it though, and if you live and work in East Gippsland, you might be interested in the following: I am looking for 'models'. If you would like to have your portrait painted, please get in touch, I would love to hear from you.

#SwiftCreeks #EastGippsland #portrait #callout #soloexhibition