Stephanie Galloway-Brown Painter
Can you explain the journey you have taken to become a portrait artist?
I came to painting later in life. I had always loved portraiture and a humanist story, but it wasn’t until I worked for an international award winning portrait photographer that I really took it more seriously and pushed that further into my own painting. I went to see The Archibald for the first time after moving to Sydney and was so in awe I thought wow could I actually do this? So I started painting portraits starting with a large oil painting of my daughter and it was selected for the Shirley Hannan Portrait prize.
Good Morning Tiger, Oil on canvas, 122 x 92 cm. Finalist Shirley Hannan Portrait Prize
I left that job and started painting portrait commissions and studying at Julian Asheton’s art school which I loved. That was 20 years ago now and many paintings and rejections later have led me to being be hung in that Archibald.
You began portrait painting your daughter. Since then, have you found it easier or harder to paint someone you know well?
I think there’s pros and cons to both but ultimately painting someone I know well does come easier as there is freedom to portray them in a way you feel comfortable and know their quirky little traits well. Most often I’m a bit of a people pleaser so trying my best not to offend anyone. I am trying to get past this though as find sometimes a comment or suggestion from someone can completely derail your initial ideas or concept and the painting can end up being more of a collaboration than interpretation of your true vision.
How do you decide on the background for each portrait?
Backgrounds cause me as much angst as the portrait. It’s an opportunity for me to be more expressive or abstract and then the trick is trying to balance it with the portrait without it becoming disjointed. If I’m trying to tell more of a subjects personal story, then there will be elements that document their lives or tell their story in some way.
John Ogden, 120 x 92 cms, Encaustic and oil on board
You comment, …’my art seeks to create moments of peace’ expand.
Mignon Parker, 92 x 102 cms. Finalist and winner peoples choice award Mudgee Arts Precinct Portrait Prize.
In our busy lives and a world that’s filled with noise and chaos and angst I want my work to be quiet and reflective or offering a moment to be still and just enjoyed. Offering that fleeting moment of fond nostalgia. Whether its looking into a pair of soulful eyes and just connecting or gazing into a landscape that’s just stopped in time, quiet observation and peaceful.
King Parrot in Coastal Banksia, Oil and wax, on canvas, 76 x 110 cms
What led you to your project, Face of Extraordinary Volunteers?
I was doing a portrait of some firefighters in Victoria for an unsung hero exhibition at Parliament House Canberra and at the same time the disastrous Black Saturday fires happened in Victoria so I got to see what they endured up close and personal.
The Black Saturday Firefighters, Oil on canvas, 140 x 100 cms
I was so inspired by their courage and what they put themselves through as volunteers I came back to Sydney and decided to discover and paint the portraits of other volunteers dedicated to their different causes in my own area. I met the most extraordinary people and their stories and lives were so fascinating I decided to make a book to go with them. It ended up being a very challenging and overwhelming project which took quite a long time, interviewing, writing and painting the portraits. I had to try raising the funds to put towards the costs of producing the book, so it was also a huge learning curve. Having a background in graphic design I was able to produce the book myself and then outsource the printing.
How did you choose the twenty-two extraordinary volunteers?
Face of Extraordinary Volunteers, Oil on canvas, 30 x 30 cms. (individual portraits)
I did a lot of research for local organisations and volunteering groups and I got help from my local council and word of mouth and set about sourcing diverse individuals and organisations. From the head of a big charitable organisation to someone doing something as small as clean up Australia Day. It’s about the little things that matter to make a difference.
Did your project help to celebrate these organizations?
I would like to think it did in some small way by helping to bring attention and awareness to their causes and what a huge difference a small thing can make to our communities by these special humans.
Face of Extraordinary Volunteers book cover by Stephanie Galloway-Brown
Was getting each person to agree easy?
It is very hard to make that initial approach to paint someone and this never gets any easier even approaching Archibald subjects. Mostly it was easy as many volunteers will think primarily of their cause or organisation and put that first even if they are not comfortable with the idea of personally being portrayed. There were a few that did not want to be part of it and a few I felt weren’t the right fit or their objectives weren’t quite a right.
Where are all the portraits now?
Most of the portraits ended up with the subjects and some got painted over or discarded.
You also paint your environment. From street scenes to comfy indoor places. Discuss.
The Chill Out Zone, oil on canvas, 91 x 122 cms
This is the direction I am moving more towards now and this is the theme of a new body of works. I have always been drawn to painting more of my environment and the nostalgic scenes I love and enjoy. From dreamy getaways to homely garden scenes and interior/exterior and coastal scenes. I’m currently trying to move away from so many commissions and portraits to focus on these scenes. It’s where I’m being pulled towards and want to explore more.
Palm Beach Ferry Myra, Oil on canvas, 78 x 78 cms
Tell us about entering the Archibald Prize?
The Archibald is Australia’s most prestigious portrait painting prize. It gets a lot of media attention and thousands of eyes will gaze across the finalists portraits. It’s extremely hard to get in to and for me it has been one of my high ranking achievement goals so I was very excited when I found out I’d been selected as a finalist for 2024. The exhibition also travels for the next year around various galleries, so it receives a very large audience. I had tried entering 3 times, before I had was selected for the Salon des Refuge which is also a very good achievement.
Kathrin Longhurst, 121.5 x 91.5 cms, Finalist Archibald prize 2024
How and why did you choose Kathrin Longhurst, and a little about her?
It was a last minute decision to enter the Archibald as I was bogged down with commissions. I’ve known Kathrin for a long time and had been wanting to paint her for a while so had a good visual idea of how I wanted to approach the portrait. It also just seemed like good timing with where she was, in her career and so I rang and asked if anyone else was painting her that year and as luck would have it she was free and agreed. I was also in admiration not only of her art but of her project on the refugee portrait series. Also Kathrin’s own story of her life growing up behind the Berlin Wall reflected on my time I had spent in Berlin standing in the other side of that wall. So that is how the painting evolved.
To be short listed is so exciting explain the importance.
I have also just found out I’ve been selected for the Portia Geach memorial award 2024 which I’m also immensely proud of with a portrait of artist Sally Robinson.
Sally Robinson, Oil and wax on canvas, x 101 cms Finalist Portia Geach 2024
To work hard at what you do and be able give your art an audience is like the final piece of the puzzle. This helps you sell more work or find gallery exposure you may want. All enabling you to make more work and explore the work you want to make. And to be recognised as a serious artist. It is not the be all and end all but it helps. I just happen to love painting portraits so it is the perfect chance of exposure for my work.
Contact:
Stephanie Galloway-Brown
https://www.gallowaybrown.com.au/
e: stephanie@gallowaybrown.com.au
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniegallowaybrown
Deborah Blakeley, Melbourne, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, October 2024
Images on these pages are all rights reserved by Stephanie Galloway-Brown
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