One of the great artists passed on recently, an artist who has inspired me for decades - Lucian Freud. In the eighties I was introduced to his work by another fan and friend of mine, Bill Reid. In 1992, Bill and I travelled to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to view a survey exhibition of his work and to this day, we still agree it was one of the most awe inspiring and memorable exhibitions we have experienced. He was not as well known in Australia at that time, demonstrated by the fact that Bill and I had the entire exhibition almost to ourselves. It was fantastic that we could linger in front of the work without interruption. I love one of his sayings - 'I want to paint myself to death' and he did. Like Michelangelo, he was an example that you can get better with age. Although his range was narrow, his work never seemed repetitious and was a wonderful balance of observation and invention. What a body of work he left to future generations.
Pictured above is his
Reflection (
Self-Portrait) 1985, oil on canvas, 56.2 x 51.2 cm
