Jennifer Scott Dr Raymond Charles Rauscher

For the past 11 years, Jennifer Scott has worked as a ‘door greeter’ at Kmart in Erina, on the NSW Central Coast. In 2018 she met regular customer Raymond Rauscher, a civil engineer whose focus is sustainable urban planning, and the pair began discussing art. She says: ‘Ray presented as a very educated and well-travelled person whose life experiences were reflected within the lines in his face, and I felt he’d make an interesting subject to paint.’

She sketched him once and took several photos, later re-sketching using charcoal then colour. ‘I prefer not to use true skin tones so the viewer is forced to look at the subject and study the eyes, creases, lines and general appearance, and find the beauty of the person without any racial or ethnic bias.’ Scott has included a praying mantis, totem of the Dhangutti people, to reflect her background.

Scott was born in Kempsey in 1958 and obtained an Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts from Newcastle TAFE in 2007. She has painted for many years, but has only entered one art competition – the 2008 Aboriginal Artist Prize at Gosford Regional Gallery, where she received a commendation.