David Bromley Charles Blackman

Charles Blackman is one of David Bromley’s heroes. Keen to paint him for the Archibald Prize, Bromley was introduced to Blackman by a friend. Bromley admits that he felt pretty nervous to be finally meeting one of Australia’s greatest artists.

‘I knew I wanted to do something large-scale with his work in behind and I was hoping there would be something recent at his house that I could work with.’ When it turned out that there was a recent painting, Bromley asked Blackman if he could use it in the background of the portrait and Blackman agreed.

‘Some of my friends have said they felt I could have used some of Blackman’s more typical imagery but this is about him now. These images have the feeling and emotion of the past but they are recent.’

The portrait was done with just one sitting as Bromley didn’t want to impose, particularly since Blackman’s health isn’t what it was. ‘You just go in respectfully, but he was absolutely charming,’ says Bromley.

‘I already had the canvas stretched and I loved the size,’ says Bromley. ‘I had planned a vertical portrait but I loved the horizontal image of his work so I began to think maybe something could be done with two heads, with a subtle shift in mood.’ As for the colour of the painting, ‘I look at his images as something precious so the gold goes back to him being something of an icon. It’s certainly a portrait by a young artist admiring an older artist.’

Born in England in 1960, Bromley arrived in Australia in 1964. He lives and works in Adelaide. He was a finalist in the 2000 Sporting Portrait Prize, held in conjunction with the Archibald, and the 1999 and 2001 Archibald Prize.