"Daniel"

"Daniel" 
 Kerry Wright, 1979 
Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

Daniel and I have been friends for over 50 years. He kindly agreed to sit for this portrait in 1979, when he was 30. Daniel's Croatian heritage, courtesy of his father, is clearly evident here in the  prominent aquiline features, heavily hooded eyes and luxuriant leonine hair, all of which contributes to his somberly melancholic demeanour and expression of  bemused cynicism. 

"Portrait of the Artist's Mother"

"Portrait of the Artist's Mother" 
 Kerry Wright, 1979 
Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

This is not a happy portrait of my beloved mother, Emily Flora Wright nee Glover (1911-1991). In reality, Mum had a bright, cheery laugh and a lovely sense of humour. She laughed often and had a wonderfully warm, giving personality. This portrait, however, captures my mother during a particularly sad period of her life, not long after the death of my father. They had been inseparable and my mother was in deep pain and mourning when I painted her portrait. It's not only Mum's sad expression and hunched demeanour that conveys the impression of loss and mourning here. It is extenuated by the sombre, cool palette of blue and grey, and by the solitary string of beads Mum is wearing around her neck, above that decidedly melancholy, drooping blue bow. 

"Study for Self Portrait"

"Study for Self Portrait" 
 Kerry Wright, 1971 
Sepia ink on cartridge paper

The resultant original oil has long since vanished and only this preliminary self-portrait sketch survives. I had leaped over the monastery wall and was in the process of setting out upon my exciting new life. In this image, I gaze fixedly at the reflection looking back at me from the mirror before me. Analytical self-examination has always been an ongoing theme in my life. 

"Study for Self Portrait in Carmelite Habit"

"Study for Self Portrait in Carmelite Habit" 
 Kerry Wright, 1970 

Indian ink on cartridge paper

 I drew this image of myself wearing the Carmelite religious habit when I was studying for the priesthood within the Carmelite cloister of Mount Carmel Monastery in Sydney. I ultimately decided against this somewhat dramatically confrontational image for the final product (scroll down); however, this drawing probably says a lot about my anguished mental state at the time it was executed.

"Self Portrait in Carmelite Habit"

"Self Portrait in Carmelite Habit" 
 Kerry Wright, 1970 
Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

I have been sketching and painting my own image since early childhood and the above self portrait is one of my first serious attempts at capturing my likeness in oils on canvas. In the painting, I am gazing intensely, sans spectacles, at my own reflection in the mirror above the sink of my cell at Mount Carmel Carmelite Monastery in Sydney. I had entered the cloister in order to study for the priesthood. Alas, however, over a period of time, I came to realize that I did not possess the religious vocation I had so fervently hoped and prayed would be mine during my adolescence. So I leaped over the monastery wall and got on with my life in the secular world. It was a memorable experience and I met some wonderful people while I was in the monastery. Certainly, I harbour no regrets about my time spent within the Carmelite cloister. In fact, I'm glad I went in, because if I had not done so, I would always wonder if I was meant to be a priest. It was a time of intense self-reflection in my life, which is evident in this self portrait. George and I recently made a pilgrimage back to the site of the monastery and were very saddened by the overdevelopment of what had once been such an idyllic, sylvan setting. The monastery grounds had once occupied an entire vast hilltop in outer Sydney and comprised a small working farm as well as the monastic building complex itself. Everything has long since fallen victim to the city’s ever increasing suburban sprawl. The grounds have been subdivided into new streets of gaudy, ostentatious McMansions. The beautiful monastery building itself, with its pretty little chapel, laid waste by the bulldozer’s might. There’s not even a plaque to signify a monastery once stood there.

"Gordon"

"Gordon" 
 Kerry Wright, 1969 
Oils on canvas
60cm x 50cm (24in x 20in)

"Francesca da Rimini"

"Francesca da Rimini" 
 Kerry Wright, 1966 
Gouache on cartridge paper
25cm x 20cm (10in x 8in)

I could write so much about this painting! Suffice to say that it is an early work from my school days. I was 16 when I painted it in 1966. I had a major teenage crush on one of my teachers at the time. It was painted on the day of his wedding. It pretty much sums-up my state of mind on that day. I was an enormous fan of the music of Peter Tchaikovsky; one of my favourite pieces being his darkly melancholic Francesca da Rimini Overture. Dante's tragic tale of Francesca, her doomed marriage and subsequently tragic love affair seemed to fit-in with my mood that day, way back in 1966. In my painting, Francesca is symbolised by the spectral white hand (complete with wedding rings) descending into the Inferno, which is symbolised by the upward-thrusting, flame-like red hand.