'Artists can teach us new ways to see the world.'
Liam Nunan is a Sydney based actor. With a background in drawing, Liam has made the transition to painting in recent years, with great success. In 2019 he won a prestigious Australian Portraiture Prize, and is a finalist in the Darling Portrait prize held at the National Portrait Gallery, 2020.
Where is your current studio? What would be your dream studio?
I have a space in Lennox St Studios in Newtown (Sydney). There are 39 artists in the building. The building used to be a school and is owned a church, which is just at the front of the studios. I share a room with two other artists. I love Lennox Street but I would like a larger space with more natural light. There are a few large studios in the same building that are beautiful - high ceilings, windows on two of the walls and amazing views. I’d love to move up into one of those one day. Somewhere I can be messy, talk aloud to myself and play music without having to wear headphones.
Do you prefer to work in silence or does certain music inspire you?
I always listen to music. I listen to a lot of Bon Iver and James Blake, and some soft folky rocky stuff like Lord Huron and Phoebe Bridges. Plus a few show tunes.
Studio life can lead to isolation, how do you address this/ keep a balance?
I’m lucky that there are always people around me at Lennox St. I have a few people I like to bounce ideas off, ask advice and complain to. I am also an actor which is the opposite to painting. It’s by nature incredibly social and collaborative. So I do enjoy just getting to my own quiet place and being antisocial sometimes too.
Describe a moment you had an epiphany concerning your creative life.
I've been acting for many years and when I started painting I realised in many ways painting was an extension of my acting. Both are about character (I’m a portrait painter). An investigation into what makes someone the way that they are. When you play a character you are being someone else, but also yourself. When you paint someone, it is also a painting of you. These characters (whether acted or painted) are filtered through you and your own experiences. You can never escape that. And you shouldn’t try to.
What is your favourite/ least favourite part of the creative process?
There is usually a moment when you are so sure you’ve fucked up the painting. Or you think you’ve forgotten how to paint. That you’re terrible. It’s very easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater -to throw the painting to and start again. But in my experience when you push through that, you do your best work. My favourite paintings are the ones that took me to hell and back.
Do you have a personal mantra or quote which serves to motivate you?
Stop thinking.
Nature versus nuture: do you believe you have inherited abilities from creative parents, do you have creative siblings? Can you identify environmental factors or influences which led to your choices or directions? I think I've always been empathetic - sometimes to my detriment. But that empathy has anyways encouraged a curiosity about people and the choices people make.
Detail a moment which was the highlight for you, thus far.
Winning the 2019 Lester Prize for portraiture was a highlight, it'll be hard pressed to surpass. It was an incredible moment that has changed me for ever. What it has afforded me, I will never take for granted. It was the first prize I had ever entered and I was very close to not making the deadline. I had a lot of trouble finishing the painting. I worked so much on it, I became indifferent. I couldn’t work out if I loved it or hated it or if it was finished. I was elated to be told I was a finalist. When I won I was speechless. I’m not sure that I'm quite over it yet.
Follow Liam!
@liam_nunan