Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Portrait of Simon O'Neill

Siegmund: Portrait of Simon O'Neill.
This painting, 'Siegmund: Portrait of Simon O'Neill', was painted from sketches and paintings made during rehearsals for The Valkyrie in Wellington in July 2012. Simon is a New Zealander though he spends most of his time overseas, singing in the great opera houses of the world.

I had intended to make several smaller paintings of Simon, but instead he leapt onto this large canvas (76 x 102 cm). I was surprised the painting turned out to be green, but then a close friend and artist pointed out that it is exactly the green of New Zealand greenstone and very appropriate.

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Detail