My new model Chae-ha and good bye to the Antique shop

My studio is next to an antique shop. Or at least it was until today. Sadly, I have learned today that this antique shop will no longer exists.  It used to have a small coffee shop within it and I used to get my morning coffee here. This is how I met with Chae-ha, a beautiful barista from South Korea.
Kindly, Chae-he has agreed to pose for me for my new series of works and we had a few sittings already.
This is a preliminary drawing of her.

BIlle Brown, you will be deeply missed

It was a great pleasure to have known Bille Brown and I am honored to have had him as subjects of my recent paintings.  He was a true gentleman with full of energy.  I am so shocked and sad at his passing, he will be deeply missed.

After learning Bille’s interest in Sufi poetry, great knowledge of Ottoman history, and his mystic background, I felt that painting him in a Turkish Bath would be fantastic.   I was amazed to learn that he studied Sufi Poetry and story telling in Turkey. He knew Haji Firouz, Mullah Nasreddin, Sohrab and Rustam. What else could I have asked!!! I was extremely excited with the idea of taking him to a Turkish Bath to paint.  A well-known Australian Shakespearean actor in a Turkish bath!

It was an honour to have him agreed to pose for me. His trans-like state in the Turkish Bath reminded me of the Sufi Derwishes, hence I named the black and white portrait as Derwish. 

Portrait of Bille Brown - Derwish
(Oil Color Painting on Canvas)

The coloured one on the other hand has a whole different energy. I believe this portrait reflects Bille’s soft nature and gentle heart. While using cold colours in the background of the Turkish Bath, I used warm colours in Bille’s portrait to create a symbolic contrast, signifying that the warmth of the Bath came from his inner energy, not from the Bath itself. 

Portrait of Bille Brown in A Turkish Bath Oil Color Painting on Canvas, 2012

50 Faces of Balmain

50 Faces of Balmain was the last project of the year. It turned out to be a success. I have spent hours and hours painting 50 portraits. All the subjects were local fellows from Balmain.
I have been painting in my Balmain studio for the last three years and Balmain inspires me a lot. This is where I get my morning coffee, where I walk when I take a break to refresh myself under the sunlight! While wondering around here, I feel happy and free. I just thought that this project would be a great opportunity to meet with more Balmainians and to allow more people to know my works and I. Choosing people from Balmain as subjects of my paintings was kind of a payback. I thought I owed this to Balmain, as it gives me the energy and inspiration in my life.