'Artists can speak to the world in a way that no one else can, because art has the ability to by-passes the intellect and speak directly to the heart of the viewer.’
Paul Newton is an Australian artist, who works predominantly in the field of portraiture. His portfolio of work includes many very recognisable faces. Paul has paintings in many public and private collections internationally and nationally, including the Australian National Portrait Gallery and the Domus Australia Chapel in Rome, Italy.
Where is your current studio? What would be your dream studio?
I live in the semi-rural outskirts of Sydney and I’m in the process (it’s been a long process!!) of building a studio in my back paddock. The important attributes that I have built into it are the following: A large south facing window, high ceilings, and plenty of storage space. The south facing window is around 8.5m high which is great (as long as your not cleaning it!) because that allows the ambient daylight to fall right across the entire studio room, which is about 10 m wide. Do you prefer to work in silence or does certain music inspire you?
I like to listen to audio books or music when I’m painting. I find that it’s possible to concentrate on both things at once, I guess because painting is predominantly a right brain activity, and listening to the spoken word is a left brain activity. However, if I’m trying to calculate the dimensions of a canvas or to measure where the Golden Ratio might be in my composition, I have to pause the audio book! Studio life can lead to isolation, how do you address this/ keep a balance?
It’s difficult to strike a balance, but I think it’s important to try. Painting is for the most part a very solitary experience, which is probably why I listen to audio books so much. However, painting portraits happily necessitates working with other people, and for me, the early stages of a portrait, where I’m exploring all the options of poses, clothing, backgrounds etc with my sitter, is one of the most enjoyable parts of the job and also the most creative. I enjoy the collaborative nature of the work. Describe a moment you had an epiphany concerning your creative life.
When I first walked through the front door of the Julian Ashton Art School, back in the late 1980s, and saw the dusty white-washed plaster figures and drapes, still life arrangements, the smell of oil paint and gum turpentine in the air, and the array of dishevelled and eccentric characters who inhabited this world, I really felt like I belonged! After years of fruitless searches this was finally a home-coming!
What is your favourite/ least favourite part of the creative process?
My favourite parts of the painting process are the beginning, when everything seems possible and I’m about to start on an adventure of discovery as to how to represent the person I’m about to paint; the end, if it all worked out (it never works out completely and I can list the faults and failings of all my works to 4 decimal places!), when I first start the painting - as nothing is yet overworked and the paint looks fresh and clean on the canvas. My least favourite parts are when I’m struggling to bring my idea or vision to fruition, when I'm struggling with my technical shortcomings and when I feel I haven’t said anything new but rather just I’ve just repeated myself. Do you have a personal mantra or quote which serves to motivate you?
Graeme Inson, who taught the Meldrom approach, said to me years ago, when painting if you don’t know what to do next, work on the biggest difference between your subject and your canvas. He said biggest difference because there will always be myriad differences, and the temptation is usually to fixate on some small difference that captures our attention. His method also involved continually walking back and forth from the canvas, which among other things, helps one avoid getting distracted by the trivia that one sees at close range and which disappears when observing the painting from a distance. For that reason he also told us not to make any judgements or decisions about the how the work was going at close range, but only from a distance. The lessons Graeme taught me were invaluable.
How has your style evolved and what contributed to the changes?
I would like to think that as time has gone on, I am more aware of and better at capturing subtle colours, particularly in the flesh tones. Describe an obstacle you have faced and how did you overcome it.
I struggled with flesh tones in the early days and I found that viewing works of the artists whose work I admired in art galleries and museums (in the flesh more so than in reproduction) was enormously helpful. Nature versus nurture- 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?
Several members of my family, including an aunt and uncle, and also my dad, had significant artistic talent, and one of my sons has great talent as a sculptor. So I guess there is a degree of inherited ability. However, I think the determination to work hard to do something with whatever talent you have is probably more important. My mum always encouraged me to develop my artistic abilities, for which I am thankful.
Detail a moment which was the highlight for you, thus far.
I painted Maggie Tabberer for the Archibald Prize some years ago. When I went to show her the finished work she cried. I thought “good grief, she hates it!” She quickly reassured me that she in fact loved it, but that she found it confronting because she felt it revealed things which she thought she’d kept hidden. That reaction was quite a highlight for me. I couldn't hope for a more beautiful and genuine reaction to my work. If you could time travel, what advice would you give the younger you, regarding pursuing your artmaking?
Have faith, it will work out. You can do it even though you might not believe so yet, or ever!
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