Artists have gathered with celebrity landscape garden designer Charlie Albone to start creating their portraits for Bowral District Art Society’s (BDAS) major annual fundraiser, the Celebrity Portrait Reveal. 

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Various artists are participating in this unique event, where they all create their own interpretation of the same subject. Past celebrities have included personalities such as musician Leo Sayer, John Waters, acclaimed artist Ben Quilty and Reg Livermore. The event was created in 2010 as part of the 60th-anniversary celebrations and proved so popular it has continued ever since. 

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Once the portraits have been completed, they are presented at the BDAS fundraising gala. The 2022 gala will be held at the Stables, Bendooley Estate, Old Hume Highway on Wednesday, 21 September. 2ST’s Graeme Day will be the MC for the evening and Charlie Albone will chat about the works before selecting his favourite to keep. There will also be a silent auction and raffle with some fantastic prizes on the night. Following the fundraiser, the portraits will be on display at the Bookshop Bowral 

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The artists invited to participate in 2022 are Tony Ameneiro, Vanessa Stockyard, Evert Ploeg and James King. The Southern Highlands Express chatted with the artists to find out what it’s been like to work together in this unique way. 

Tony Ameneiro is one of the artists creating a portrait of Charlie and this is the first time he has participated in a project. “We all work differently, it was apparent even on the day as we all looked at each other's works,” he told the Express. “Hopefully something of each artist’s own unique style will come through.” 

Mr Ameneiro studied art at Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education Sydney between 1978-1981 and has been exhibiting professionally ever since. His primary focus is as an artist-printmaker and he incorporates his drawing practice across etching, lithography and monotype. 

He won the 2007 National Fremantle Print Award and has been awarded several other awards and positions, working with other prominent artists such as Ben Quilty and Tracey Moffatt. His work has been exhibited by some of the world’s most prestigious galleries including the British Museum London, the State Library of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia. He is also well-known in the Highlands having exhibited at both Sturt Gallery in Mittagong and the Bowral Art Gallery. 

Mr Ameneiro told the Express that the initial painting day was a success. 

“Charlie Albone was great, very friendly, very down to earth and importantly he managed to sit very still for the pose for over 6 hours (on and off ) ... not an easy task” 

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James King has been a professional painter for more than 20 years, and moved to the Highlands 18 years ago “to live an affordable creative life in the country”. 

Mr King shifted his focus from landscape to portraiture about 15 years ago and many of his works are inspired by photos from the mid-twentieth century. 

“I want to take the image further and subvert the historical function of pre-modern portraiture; the subjects I choose to paint are ordinary people and their images were for a time private mementos never intended to be seen by an audience other than family and friends,” he told the Express. 

Mr King participated in the BDAS celebrity portrait reveal a number of years ago and “learned a great deal from the experience”, and has enjoyed getting back into the swing of things. 

“I loved working alongside the other artists and Charlie really was the perfect model,” he said. 

“Primarily I’m trying to create an interesting painting, the likeness is almost secondary.” 

As an artist living and working in regional NSW, Mr King believes that regional community spaces such as BDAS and Robertson’s Southern Highlands Artisans Collective are “essential institutions”. 

“Art is for everyone and we need places that showcase all levels and all forms of creativity.” 

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Evert Ploeg is a renowned portrait artist, winning several prestigious awards including the Archibald Prize People’s Choice Award on two occasions and receiving Signature Status in the Portrait Society of America in 2018. In 1997, his portrait of ABC’s Bananas in Pyjamas was the talk of the town when the Art Gallery of NSW Trustees rejected it from the Archibald Prize. 

Mr Ploeg has participated in several projects such as this and particularly enjoys “the challenge of not knowing exactly what will unfold and working on the fly”. 

In relation to the current portrait, Mr Ploeg told the Express, “The style and approach to this portrait of Charlie Albone is Alla Prima, which in Italian means ‘at first attempt’, I’m trying to achieve a spontaneous lively likeness from life in the given time I have on the day”. 

He enjoyed the initial painting day explaining how valuable it can be to create work from real life as opposed to photography. 

“It’s in these moments you can see things like a sense of size or the way they stand, small intuitive things that make character. 

“I hope the audience will see the loose and energetic brushwork on my piece, and get a sense of who Charlie is, even if that is how he is portrayed in his professional capacity,” he told the Express. 

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Vanessa Stockyard has an equally unique style and has been a professional artist for more than 20 years. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts in Sydney and has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize three times. 

“The technique I use is a combination of brush strokes with the drawn line and is a daily juxtaposition of control and letting go,” she has said of her work. 

“I found the experience to be fabulous,” Vanessa told the Express. 

“It’s a rare gift to have someone sit for hours so we can get a good understanding of their nature and little details you would never get from looking at a photo. 

“I really enjoyed the other artists too and how differently each person approached their portrait.” 

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Just what these talented artists will produce in the end remains to be seen. To book tickets to the 2022 Celebrity Portrait Reveal gala visit trybooking.com/BYRWS 

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By Peach Robb 

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