HIDDEN FACES
The 2021 Victorian Salon des Refusés
This portrait was submitted to the 2020 Archibald
& Kennedy Prizes. click on artwork to enlarge
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Cat #24 Vicki Sullivan
THE BIRTH OF VENUS, Grace Farriss Oil on Linen 150 cm high x 100 cm wide $30,000 Artist’s Statement I felt very honoured to be asked to paint Grace Farris as the Birth of Venus for her new Album cover. It has taken many years to gain confidence enough to attempt painting Venus the Goddess of Beauty. I was inspired by Sandro Botticelli’s Venus in Florence and William Bouguereau’s Version in Paris; including elements of both paintings along with my life studies of flowers. Painting Venus helped me through the Covid lockdown, focusing on her beauty helped lessen my anxiety and the colours helped me to feel peaceful again. I had a lovely time getting to know Grace during our portrait session, gathering reference material to paint the portrait. Also my little messengers, Bedford and Mo blowing the conch shells helped make the painting something special and the way they put their heart and souls into blowing those shells was very endearing. |