"Paranoid Self Portrait"

"Paranoid Self Portrait"

Kerry Wright, 1983

Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

In case the image itself fails to convey an adequately definitive indication of what this disturbingly tormented self-portrait is attempting to portray, the title should provide the appropriate indisputable clarification.

"Objects on a Table" (Detail)

"Objects on a Table" (Detail)

Kerry Wright, 1981

Oils on canvas
Original 90cm x 90cm (3ft x 3ft)

This is all that remains; or more correctly, all that I am prepared to reveal; of the third and final portrait I painted of Daniel. In it, Daniel is depicted as sitting at a round table with a brown tablecloth against a dusky pink background. He is wearing a turquoise-coloured shirt, with the sleeves rolled-up to the elbows. Daniel's left elbow can be seen resting on the table. Laid before him on the table are three objects representing different aspects of Daniel's lifestyle at that time: a crumpled, discarded, red serviette; a dogeared photograph of an anonymous man; and a black pantomime mask. Can you guess what each of the objects signifies?   

"Portrait of Daniel"

"Portrait of Daniel" 
 Kerry Wright, 1980 
Oils on canvas
90cm x 60cm (3ft x 2ft)

I'm not exactly sure why Daniel agreed to sit for this second portrait. At the time, I understood he liked the first portrait and was pleased to sit for another. As it turned out, he didn't like either. What's even more quizzical is that he agreed to sit for a third portrait! I appreciate that it is sometimes somewhat of a confrontational experience to have one's portrait painted. We only ever see ourselves in reverse image, in the mirror, which is not how we appear in reality, to others. It is why people often don't like photographs of themselves. For the same reason, portraits often go unappreciated by the sitter. Certainly, that was the case with Daniel. It would appear that sitting proved to be nothing more than an abjectly enervating experience for Daniel. And it brought out the art critic in him. In fact, he became my most scathing critic. You can't please everyone, I guess. Not even when you're in the process of immortalizing them!

"Portrait of George" (Detail)

"Portrait of George" (Detail) 
 Kerry Wright, 1980 
Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

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"Portrait of George"

"Portrait of George" 
 Kerry Wright, 1980 
Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

The question is sometimes hypothetically posed, "In the event of a fire, with what precious belongings would you flee the burning building?" I have no hesitation in responding that I would choose to take this portrait of my dear friend, George, along with the portrait of my mother in the blue dress (scroll down). They are my two most precious belongings in all the world, primarily because they represent the two most precious people in my life. George was 30 when I painted his portrait in 1980. He was a portrait painter's dream subject, with his broodingly dark good looks and startlingly attractive blue-grey eyes under a knotted brow. So very Alexandrian! He is painted in a favourite red shirt of the time, resulting in a friend once christening the portrait "Velvet George", even though the shirt was of cotton, not velvet. It was through a mutual friend that George and I first met, at Long Reef in Sydney in February 1973, not long after he left the Royal Australian Navy. He has been an integral part of my life ever since. I can't imagine what my life would be like without George in it. 

"The Embrace" (After Jim French)

"The Embrace" 
(After Jim French)
 Kerry Wright, 1979 
Graphite on cartridge paper

I have always admired the beautiful drawings of American homoerotic artist, Jim French, who produced the most sumptuously exquisite images under the name of Rip Colt. Even though the musculature and anatomy in the drawings is impeccably rendered, it was the strikingly handsome faces that initially appealed to me the most. And the eyes. The eyes seemed to bore into one's soul with an amazingly penetrating intensity. I thought that, as a young artist, if I could train my eye/hand coordination to such a highly refined extent that I could reproduce the work of Jim French, then I was on my way to becoming an artist of some repute. So I copied several of his drawings. This is my favourite. When the film "Brokeback Mountain" was released many years later, I became aware that the iconic, and now famous, dozy embrace scene from that film was very reminiscent of this original Jim French image, so I renamed my drawing "The Embrace".

"Study for Portrait of Daniel"

"Study for Portrait of Daniel" 
 Kerry Wright, 1979 

Graphite on cartridge paper

Preliminary profile study completed at the time Daniel's portrait was painted in 1979. 

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