Wendy Spindler Alive and brilliant

‘I have long been a fan of Deborah, with her great musical talent, strength and fierce persona, not to mention being such a stunningly beautiful woman. She’s been on my wish-list to paint for some time,’ says Wendy Spindler, who contacted the acclaimed singer Deborah Conway AM after attending one of her performances. ‘She seems to lose herself in her art, which struck a chord in me.

‘We first met at a local coffee shop for a chat. Deborah was very generous with her time, and I took several photographs in her garden. She gifted me some of her music which I listened to constantly while working on the piece. She’s seated in the privacy of her garden and I love her steady, confident, direct gaze. Although she pours out her heart in her songs, I felt this pose and the way her hands are positioned convey a different type of vulnerability that represents the private part of the performer. She is now, and has always been, an inspirational role model for many.’

Spindler was born in Melbourne in 1957 and came to oil painting relatively late in life. ‘I always loved drawing, but it was whilst living in China in 2007 that I attended art classes, and from the very first one I have been obsessed,’ she says. This is Spindler’s first time in the Archibald Prize.