Portrait of a Senior Territorian
Gary Single has been involved with the Portrait of a Senior Territorian competition for a number of years hanging the paintings, and this year he’ll see his face staring back at him.
By Tamara Howie
Artist Katalin Horompo met Single through her partner Max who worked with him two decades ago, and decided he would be a good subject for her to paint.
“I met up with Gary in his framing studio for a photo shoot as, at that point, I didn’t realise this competition required at least one live sitting,” she says.
“So after completing this first photo based painting, I decided to enter it into the Royal Darwin Show instead, and won the portrait painting section with it.
“While painting this first picture, I learned more about Gary and his calm, accommodating personality, which I wanted to capture in a second painting for this competition, so we met at my place for an actual sitting.”
During the sitting Horompo took several photos and continued the piece to capture his character.
“I felt I needed to bring some unique features into the painting from Gary’s working life,” she says.
“That’s when I thought it would be an interesting approach to depict the back of a picture frame, which is what Gary has been creating for decades and adding value, albeit unrecognised, to the work of artists.”
The painting, titled ‘Verso’, is Horompo’s first entry into the competition, which this year celebrates 40 years of selfgovernment in the NT.
The annual awards recognise the contributions seniors make to the Territory, and this year will feature 25 portraits, including a subject born in 1918.
Fri 12 – Fri 19 Oct | 9am-4pm | Opening Fri 12 Oct, 12.30pm | Parliament House | Free | See the event listing
Thumbnail image: Henry Smith, 'Craig San Roque' (detail), 2017, 2017 winner of the Portrait of a Senior Territorian Art Award Acquisition Award; courtesy of Araluen Arts Centre.
Header image: Jennifer Taylor, 'Agnes Abbott shows where she ran away home from Arltunga Mission' (detail), 2015; 2017 Portrait of a Senior Territorian Art Award, courtesy of Araluen Arts Centre
