Anwen Keeling is an accomplished technician and colourist known for her genre of realist paintings.
Her oeuvre has included portraits of people and animals, seductive paintings of semi-clad, female figures in intimate interiors to dynamic, film-noir depictions of couples in intense, private moments. ( eg “shadow of a doubt 2008 / 09 series )
In an exciting new shift, Sport Horse will comprise a suite of paintings based on the historical tradition of 19th Century European equine painting, evocative of the work of artists such as George Stubbs and Alfred Munnings.
George Stubbs’ famous painting, Whistlejacket, of a half-rearing chestnut stallion set against an olive green background.
Sport horse, or Sporthorse, is a term used to describe a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term generally refers to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving.
For this exhibition at Liverpool Street Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Keeling reveals her painterly skills in a series of large-scale portraits of elite Australian sport horses from a variety of breeds including Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods and Lusitanos.
Victory Salute (below) the name of the majestic Warmblood gelding who is one of Australia’s elite dressage horses who competes on an International level with his rider Brett Parberry (Australia’s highest FEI ranked dressage rider in the world) and represented Australia at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA in 2010.
Victory Salute, 2011 oil on linen118 x 167 cm
Anwen Keeling chose to paint Victory Salute because, “he is a wonderful example of the modern Sport Horse: great bone structure, an athletic frame, strong movement and paces.”
Working largely from photographs and sketches, Keeling takes a methodical approach to painting, paying meticulous attention to detail, light and form. Keeling truthfully depicts form through the use of linear perspective, tight composition, real colour and exquisite tonality.
Her decision to leave the backgrounds bare serves to, “accentuate and heighten the differences between the various horses portrayed, revealing how humans have adapted their anatomy to different sporting disciplines.”
Despite the almost photo-realist quality to the works, Keeling never denies the artist’s hand – the brushwork and thin layering of oil and varnish still remain visible elements on the surface.
Anwen Keeling is a keen horse rider and has competed in various Equestrian sports, stating, …. “It seemed natural, given my passion, to want to paint horses.”
“I really fancy myself as the next Georgette Stubbs!” … Anwen Keeling
anwen and pluto
About Anwen Keeling
She was born in Sydney in 1976.
Anwen completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) at ANU, Canberra and was awarded the University Medal.
She also holds a Masters of European Fine Art from the Winchester School of Art, South Hampton University,
Barcelona, Spain.
She has exhibited in Japan, Spain and England as well as in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
Keeling was a finalist in the Sulman Prize at AGNSW in 2010, and again recently in 2011.
Her paintings have been selected for The Year in Art (2003) and Salon des Refuses (2004) at the SH Ervin Gallery, National Trust, Sydney.
Keeling’s portrait of the Sydney radio personalities Merrick Watts and Tim Ross (‘Merrick and Rosso’) was exhibited in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2004) at the State Library of New South Wales.
In 2007 she was awarded the ABN AMRO Emerging Artist (Employee’s Choice) Award for her painting, Marnie. Keeling’s work is represented in the collections of the National Australia Bank and the Australian National University, Canberra as well as private collections in Australia, United States, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
Anwen Keeling lives and works in Sydney.
tender is the night
Keeling’s beguiling, realist paintings capture suspended moments in fictional lives with a reverence for drama, suspense and elegance.
Like film stills from an Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Keeling’s isolated female figures are placed in a series of interiors where the space is either suffused with subtle, refracted light or illuminated by the harsh glare of an electric bulb
Anwen Keeling’s alluring paintings tempt us into voyeurism only to leave us void of any truth. Befallen with shadow and light, Keeling captures characters suspended in moments of fictional narratives, seducing us like stills from a film noir.
As we look upon private interiors, we are then privy to intimate moments of introspection and solitude; moments of contemplation and of deep quiet, hinting at what may have come before, or what looms in their aftermath.
Demonstrating a style that is incredibly true to life, Keeling forces a double-take. Is it a photograph, or is it painting? A question that is only answered upon close inspection, and most importantly, suggestive of an artistic skill that in a digital age, is few and far between.
Shadow of a Doubt / 2009
Anwen Keeling’s realist paintings capture suspended moments in fictional lives with a reverence for the classic
Hollywood / Hitchcockian film noir genre of the early 1940s and late 1950s.
Known for painting the semi-clad female figure, Keeling’s new paintings in Shadow of a Doubt explore the seductive, brooding and tense relationships between couples in intimate, private environments.
Shadow of a Doubt interrogates the idea of the film still and the story-board narrative, whereby ambiguous and
evocative plots are evoked and the seductive realism of heightened drama bears resemblance to Edward Hopper’s oeuvre and aesthetic.
The careful composition of her paintings and refinement of technical execution assists in creating an effect of a film still, seen in Afterburn (2008-2009). Here, the unorthodox division of the canvas in two creates the illusion of spatial depth, which is also emphasised in the contrast between the soft focus of the female figure in the foreground and the sharp delineation of the male figure in the background.
The elements of mystery and suspense are contrasted with moments of reverie and reflection where the viewer is acutely aware of their voyeuristic intrusion.
Keeling is an accomplished technician; her genre of heightened realism reveals an adept skill in truthfully depicting the body in space through the use of linear perspective, rich colour palette and tight composition. Working largely from photographs and sketches of models, Keeling captures the intensity of the female and male figures in isolated interiors.
The rich chiaroscuro effects of subtle light and deep, inky shadows accentuate the drama and suggest an emotional and physiological undercurrent.
Shadowlands 2007
Schubert Contemporary Gallery
“The atmospheric use of light and shadow is the defining element in my work – it creates a sense of mystery where questions linger. The women are lost in some deep world. Snippets of information lead into a narrative that only the viewer can unravel.” … Anwen Keeling
Essay by Jacqueline Houghton
Seductive and mesmerizing, Anwen Keeling’s paintings possess a beauty that simultaneously disturbs and enriches our lives. Referencing sources as diverse as Caravaggio and film noir, the images appear like edited moments culled from the cutting-room floor. The familiar is scripted with unease: the uncanny conjoined with elegance. The viewer strains to grasp something as elusive as the dancing motes in a shaft of light.
The emotional context of the works is largely dependent upon certain pictorial dynamics. Compositions are carefully constructed with every line, shape and colour integral to the evocation of a desired mood. The young Sydney-based artist plays with light and its absence, deftly manipulating visual and psychological tensions with chiaroscuro. Drama and vulnerability become all the more palpable in Keeling’s extraordinary ability to render life-like form and sumptuous surface texture.
In the painting If Love Was a Red Dress, a figure momentarily pauses on dark wooden stairs – her upper face and eyes shadowed by the gloom ahead. Harsh light streams from a tall side-window and falls with cold sensuality upon the satin fabric of her garment: its crimson intensity swallowing the lonely emptiness of the stairwell. A tiny white patch flickers on the skirting board below, it and the fire extinguisher hint at an ‘out’ – a way back – but visual perspective and linear elements conspire to lead the subject inexorably forward.
A different sense of uncertainty pervades Approaching Storm. All is still in the wan, diffused light. A great watery expanse fills the entire view from the bay-windows. We intuit the approach of something. The homely scatter-cushions and neatly stacked fashion magazines do little to dispel the tug of an unsettling undertow. Bare floorboards direct the eye to the woman’s pointed toe, up along her body and thence out to where her binoculars are aimed: the angles formed by window frames and cushions reiterate. A stray palm-frond bobs into view and the water’s surface appears to ruffle in a lifting breeze.
Pictorial devices again guide us into the narrative of Drowsy Numbness.The golden light slanting through horizontal blinds is unabashedly theatrical. Stroboscopic-like patterns fragment reality with the fragility of some half-remembered dream. A similar, languorous ambiguity attends the imagery in Morning Sun. Mug of coffee in hand and dressed only in frilly red knickers, a young woman squints into the brightness of a new day – her naked flesh banded by the ruddy light spilling into unfurnished room.
Awash in moonlight,Night Solace has a mythic presence. Astride a great horse the girl peers into an impenetrable darkness. All senses alert in the cool night air, she gently pats the neck of her unconcerned companion. Glimmering white and reassuring against a shadowy unknown it grazes calmly on dew-damp grass.
Despite the enigmas and high drama, the Shadowlands exhibition radiates a warmth and honesty which is perhaps born of the fact that the models – both human and animal – are the artist’s very special friends.
The Falling Dark / 2007
The Falling Dark was Keeling’s first exhibition with Liverpool Street Gallery and followed her critically acclaimed exhibitions, Langour (2005), at Art Galleries Schubert, Queensland and Waiting Room (2004) at Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney.
Keeling’s beguiling, realist paintings capture suspended moments in fictional lives with a reverence for drama, suspense and elegance.
In Suspense (2007), a young woman pauses, mid-step, upon a spiral staircase, shrouded in deep shadow. Anxiety radiates from her thin frame. She is poised, alert, listening. But what has she heard to induce such emotion? Elements of mystery and suspense are contrasted with moments of intense personal rest and reflection, where the viewer is obliged to acknowledge their own voyeuristic intrusion.
In Drifting (2006), the viewer inadvertently intrudes upon the languid, naked form of a young woman, reclining in the bath, lost in her own reverie. “These luminous paintings of domestic interiors are so tantalisingly realistic you’ll feel compelled to apologise for the intrusion”.*
Technically proficient with both the camera and the brush, Keeling stages her scenes by photographing her models in domestic settings. She then skillfully employs rich pigments, heavy glazes and sensual brush marks to create her unnervingly precise paintings, though she shies away from the term photo-realism:
“The technical process of painting is extremely important to me, as I investigate the material qualities (and possibilities) of paint. But I am always wary of the term photorealism. It occasionally attaches itself to my work. I feel that my work is not photorealist, as I never try and deny it is a painted surface, the glazing and brush marks are still evident and important. ”
Langour 2004 / 05
Artist Statement
The series of paintings entitled Waiting Room, and the work currently unfolding focuses on creating mood and atmosphere. The power of narrative, emotion and the echoes of film stills suggest far more than is contained within the frame of the canvas.
Isolated female figures are placed in a series of interiors in which the space is either flooded with light through gaps in the curtains or illuminated by the glare of an electric light bulb. A ‘film noir’ ambience is achieved with chiaroscuro effects and deep shadows revealing an emotional & psychological condition. The elements of mystery and suspense are contrasted with moments of intense personal rest & reflection, where the viewer is obliged to acknowledge their own voyeuristic intrusion.
In “Tell me”2004, a woman stands arms crossed, her back to the viewer facing a man seated on a couch. The tension between the figures is evident and heightened by the space between them. In some of the latest paintings I have continued investigating the intensity of the relationships between subjects, creating stronger narratives and more dramatic compositions.
The technical process of painting is extremely important to me, and a strong background in the investigation of paint, mediums and surfaces has led me to my current work practice. I work largely from photographs taken of friends in domestic situations.
I am always wary of the term photorealism, yet occasionally it attaches itself to my work. I feel that my work is not photorealist, as I never try and deny it is a painted surface, the glazing and brush marks are still evident and important.
I am constantly amazed by the qualities of paint and the colours available. I lean heavily towards the translucent colours, and even when using opaques, tend to glaze over them with translucent colours. There is something incredibly beautiful about pigments, such as carmine, and the alchemy that happens when you mix it with your medium and then glaze over the painted surface.
I tend to over saturate the colour in my paintings, and there is usually a colour scheme in each piece, although that begins when I set up my photographs. I am quite bewitched by inky shadows and glowing flesh, and have always been influenced by Caravaggio and his mastery of chiaroscuro
merrick and rosso 2004
Waiting Room 2004 / 05
Brian Moore Gallery
Emma Epstein, catalogue essay
“In this her most recent series of work, Waiting Room, Keeling … has stepped away from documenting lifestyle and towards creating a psychological space … We are deliberately precluded from the true condition of her subjects and are provided with few clues to their current circumstance. Her paintings are suspended moments from the unfolding of their fictional lives, where the narrative becomes the viewer’s.”
Solo Exhibitions
2009 Shadow of a Doubt, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney
2007 Shadowlands, Art Galleries Schubert, Queensland
The falling dark, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney
2005 Languor, Art Galleries Schubert, Queensland
2004 Waiting Room, Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney
2003 New Paintings, Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney
2001 Allegory, Panorama Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
1999 Swathed, Span Galleries, Melbourne
Paintings and Drawings, Goya Galleries, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2009 Summer Exhibition, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney
2008 Melbourne Art Fair, Liverpool Street Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Come Hither: Interpretations of the Boudoir, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery
ABN AMRO Emerging Artist Award, Sydney
Summer Exhibition, Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney
2006 Metro 5 Art Award, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne
Melbourne Art Fair 2006 (Liverpool Street Gallery), Royal Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne
Jeans for Genes, Art Auction for the Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney
An artist at my table, Art Auction, National Art School, Sydney
2005 Dog Trumpet, Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney
Metro 5 Art Award, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne
2004 Home Ground – 5 Alumni Painters of the Canberra School of Art, Canberra School of Art Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra
Doug Moran Portrait Prize, State Library of NSW, Sydney
Salon des Refuses – Archibald Prize, S.H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust, Sydney
Metro 5 Art Award, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne
2003 The Year in Art, S.H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust, Sydney
Brian Moore Memorial Show, Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney
Canberra Art Prize, Canberra Italo Club, Canberra
Love Your Work – NSW TAFE Teachers Exhibition, MUSE Gallery, Sydney
John Cootes Memorial Art Prize, Berrmia District Art Gallery, Berrima, NSW
Jeans for Genes, Art Auction for the Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney
Beaux Arts Ball Charity Art Auction, Sheraton on the Park, Sydney
2002 Naked, Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney
Generations, Art Auction for the Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney
2001 Still Lives, Fisherton Mill, Salisbury, United Kingdom
Zumo, Winchester School of Art Masters Students Exhibition, WSA, Winchester, United Kingdom
Zumo, Winchester School of Art Students Exhibition, Can Felipa Centro de Belles Artes, Barcelona, Spain
2000 Jeans for Genes, Art Auction for the Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney
1999 Portia Geach Portrait Award, S.H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust, Sydney
Salon des Refuses – Archibald Prize, S.H. Ervin Gallery, National Trust, Sydney
1998 Excite, Graduating Exhibition Canberra School of Art, Australian National University, Canberra
1994 Art Express, Art Gallery of New South Wales and selected regional galleries
Art Express – Nagoya, Nagoya Citizens Gallery, Nagoya, Japan
Awards and Scholarships
2007 ABN AMRO Emerging Artist Award (Employee’s Choice)
2006 Metro 5 Art Award Finalist, Metro 5 Gallery, Melbourne
2005 Waiting Room, Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney
2004 Waiting Room, Brian Moore Gallery, Sydney
Finalist Doug Moran Portrait Prize, State Library of NSW, Sydney
2003 Oil Painting Award, The Canberra Prize, Italo Australian Club, Canberra
1998 University Medal, Canberra School of Art, Australian National University
Canberra School of Art Award, Australian National University
1996 Visual Arts Scholarship – Queenwood School for Girls
Julian Ashton Art School Scholarship
1989, ’90, ’93 Winner of Mosman Youth Art Prize
Collections
Australian National University, Canberra
Delaney and Associates Ltd, Canberra
M-Real Alliance Pty Ltd, London
National Australia Bank
Private Collections
Australia, United States, Hong Kong, United Kingdom
Brian Moore 2003
Interviews with Anwen
State of the Art Series 2010
by Bianca Georgiou
First of all, how would you describe your work to a stranger?
A stranger…I guess I would talk about my paintings looking like film stills…a Hitchcock film-still, or some sort of cinematic still, like a section or page from a story…The atmospheric use of light and shadow is a defining element in my work. I think it creates a sense of mystery where questions linger. The women in my paintings are lost in some deep world and snippets of information lead into a narrative that only the viewer can unravel….
Do you conjure up fictional characters or do you paint from people you know?
Yeah, I actually use all of my friends. The moments are fictional, but there is always a certain level of truth in them.
And your friends are all comfortable posing nude?
Yeah, some of them are getting married and their husbands aren’t so comfortable with that these days. But yeah, they’re all friends that model for me. I guess that helps because there’s a level of intimacy, and they’re relaxed. The poses are very natural; I suppose there’s a level of comfort that comes from being around people you know.
As I was looking at your works I noticed that although the figures are 95% of the time nude, you’ve managed to capture nudity without being pornographic. Do you think that comes from being a female artist painting women?
I definitely think that a woman’s appreciation of the female form differs significantly from the male gaze. There is a sense of voyeurism in my works, and even a fragility to the subjects; afterall, the viewer is looking in on a very private moment. I guess there isn’t a hugely strong sexual tone, it’s more of an observation of form and bodies and light. The figures I paint are beautiful, but yes, the female gaze and the male gaze are very different.
So, would you say your primary concern is rendering an entire composition in terms of light and shade?
Definitely; it becomes about the form in space, noticing how skin reflects light…I think bodies are beautiful, and I believe that as a woman, I relate to the female figure easier. I guess people talk about how they project themselves in their painting, so I see a slight vulnerability in some of the figures, but a strength as well. Particularly the isolated figures. It’s really about looking at a person absorbed in their thoughts, in their own world.
Yeah, I noticed with a couple of your works with male figures, the female projects a greater sense of vulnerability than if she was alone…
Yeah, I guess after looking at alot of films, and the dynamics of tension and space you may achieve with two figures, I started experimenting with the drama you can project with both a male and female figure in the composition. I like to think that the women in my paintings are subjects, rather than objects. Although beautiful, and often sensual, they always have a sense of self; often it is the viewer intruding in on their space and in their territory, rather than the subject positioned only for the viewer’s gaze.
Which human emotion do you find the most fascinating?
I like melancholy without despair, hope without expectation…
Something I came across when I was researching your work was that you don’t like to be referred to as a photo-realist painter…
The true definition of Photo Realism is that you can literally hardly tell a painting from a photograph. When you actually look at my paintings in the flesh, you’ll notice that there’s quite a lot of texture and visible brush strokes. I never deny that it’s a painting, I never deny the brushwork. The photograph, is however, integral to my working process. I work from photographs that I stage myself. As some works may take months to complete, the camera is a necessary tool to document details of light, reflections and tone. For me, the painting process is all about mixing colors, and achieving the colors that are true to life, mimicking light and using the glazes to get that effect.
In this digital age, do you think that painting as a medium has to constantly reinvent itself to keep up?
Yeah, but at the same time I think there’s certainly been a swing back to the appreciation of work that takes time, and craft, and skill. There was a time when the word craft was a dirty word in the art world, but I definitely think that there is a resurgence and definite interest in a work that has been beautifully rendered and crafted. I mean, we live in such an age where everyone wants immediate results, an immediate buzz. I think people are really fascinated by work that may take a month to do.
I noticed you’ve had an incredibly impressive art education, even gaining a University Medal. You studied in Spain as well?
Yeah, I did a Masters in Barcelona.
How did that time abroad affect your art-making?
It was fantastic. It was a very conceptual and challenging course. They considered me the old-fashioned, antipodean painter. Alot of the artists worked in the genres of performance and installation, and I think there were only a few of us who were actually painters, and my style of figurative painting was seen as completely passe…
Which country, do you feel, has had the most positive response to your work?
I think the work in England went down really well. I would love to one day, show in America. I’ve recently spent four months going around the world, and just looking at the galleries over there, it’s just so exciting, I mean in Australia, we have a very small market.
I wanted to ask you also about how you’ve said that you’re heavily influenced by Caravaggio…
I love Caravaggio, his manipulation of light and composition, but I really love looking at most of the Renaissance painters, particularly the mannerist and high Renaissance period. Recently as well, I traveled up the coast of Maine to a place called Monhegan Island, which used to be an artist colony in the 1940s and 50s, and that’s where Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyatt used to paint. That was really inspiring, in fact I think my next series will be less ‘finished’ landscapes based on my travels…
What’s the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
I think, in terms of my art career, I guess it’s to have a plan, to know where you want to go, and to make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. Most importantly, to work out where you fit in.
Could you imagine being anything other than an artist?
Well, I have a horse, I spend alot of time with my horse, so I guess something to do with horses. But i could never be in an office, I’m way too badly behaved to be in an office.
You also lecture at the College of Fine Arts right?
Yeah, I actually teach life drawing, and some online classes…
What would you like people to take away from your art?
A sense of quietness and stillness from our otherwise hectic existence…
And finally, how would you like to be remembered?
I guess as a great painter. And someone who made work that was honest. You have to be honest with yourself, first and foremost.
stuart tinney 2002
Orphan Magazine
2007 was a busy year for Sydney-based artist, Anwen Keeling, with two separate exhibitions in two different states, both showcasing new artworks.
In between the exhibitions she even managed to sneak in a couple of overseas trips. “I’m a typical artist—always behind schedule and it’s entirely my own fault!” says Anwen.
Classically trained, Anwen’s work captures suspended moments in fictional lives with an emphasis on drama, suspense and elegance.On her canvas, elements of mystery and anticipation merge and contrast with moments of intense personal introspection.
Equally skilled with a camera as a brush, Anwen choreographs her scenes by photographing her predominantly female subjects in settings of the everyday: bathrooms, staircases and bedrooms. She then meticulously recreates the scene on canvas.Anwen studied Visual Arts at the Canberra School of Art at the Australian National University. She graduated with First Class Honours and a University Medal. She went on to study a Masters of European Fine Art from the Winchester School of Art, South Hampton University, Barcelona, Spain.
Anwen has exhibited in various group and solo exhibitions around the globe including Spain, Japan and England as well as selected shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and the Gold Coast. Her most recent exhibition, Shadowlands, was held at the Art Galleries Schubert on the Gold Coast in November of last year. Her next show will be held at Liverpool Street Gallery, Sydney, in December 2008.
Why did you choose to study in Canberra?
I went straight from school to uni and a major factor in my choice was the course at the Canberra School of Art – ANU was still four years, while the Sydney unis had all just shortened their courses to three years. When I went to visit the school of Art, it was so chilled out and I was really impressed by the standard of work. There was a very relaxed and unpretentious feel to the campus and I figured moving to another city was a good way of moving out of home—not that my parents have been anything but supportive, but there was no need for them to witness the activities of a first year art student!
Are the moments you capture and the scenes you paint from your own experiences or are they purely fictional?
The moments are fictional, but there is always a certain level of truth in them—we all have moments of introspection. The atmospheric use of light and shadow is a defining element in my work—I think it creates a sense of mystery where questions linger. The women in my paintings are lost in some deep world and snippets of information lead into a narrative that only the viewer can unravel.
Do you ever find yourself watching the lives of those you don’t know and creating stories around what you’ve witnessed?
I think we are all voyeurs. I don’t find myself creating stories, as such. I am more intrigued by moments, such as the fall of light on someone’s collarbone, or the tilt of a head, a gesture or the fall of shadows. I leave it up to others to tell the stories. In some ways my paintings are like a single page from a book, enough detail to understand a character and their environment. It’s up to you to be the author and decide the beginning and ending—most people tend to project their own experiences and emotions onto the work.
Culture-wise, has there been any trend or movement that’s captured your attention recently?
When it comes to art, I like to keep abreast of current practices; I recently went over for the Venice Biennale and Art Basel. It was a fantastic opportunity to see what’s happening on a worldwide scale, and to try and work out my position within that. A standout for me at the Venice biennale was the knockout quasi-abstract paintings by that old magician-artist Sigmar Polke.
Nearby were some amazing new Gerhardt Richter paintings and some lovely Robert Ryman paintings. I guess I’m a tad old school with my own obsession for paint; I’m an easy target for beautiful surfaces and being able to witness an artist’s exploration of paint and its versatility.
I spend a fortune buying books on art and film on the internet and I now have a great reference library. I find endless inspiration in the work of painters such as Carravaggio, Vermeer, Edward Hopper, Eric Fischl, Lucian Freud, and photographers Jeff Wall and Bill Henson. Film, both old and contemporary, also informs my work. Hitchcock has been a long standing favourite, because of the simplicity and strength of the framing of his scenes and the use of the single light source. Some of my closest friends are also talented artists and their working practice and artistic achievements keep me on my toes!
In Australia, it sometimes feels like art is approached as a luxury activity—as a status game for those who want to class up their wealth. Do you think the way people approach art in Australia is changing?
I think Australia has a long way to go with accepting and understanding contemporary art practice. It seems to me there is more respect and an acceptance of artists and their role in society by the general population in Europe. Earning a living as an artist is quite a challenge and many artists require additional jobs to maintain their practice. I am extremely lucky that there seems to be a market for my work and I like to think people buy my paintings due to their aesthetic qualities rather than as status symbols! Unfortunately in Australia, we need the media circus around such things as the Archibald Prize to stimulate attention on current practitioners.
You’ve been quoted as saying, “I see beauty in the everyday”. How do you seek out and capture that beauty? Do you carry a camera with you or keep a journal to keep you inspired?
Beauty is such a difficult concept to quantify as it is so subjective. I don’t carry a camera everywhere—my ability to drop and lose things doesn’t aid my camera’s life span! I guess I make mental notes and occasionally write something down if I think I am unlikely to remember.
Your subjects are predominantly female and it’s obvious you see beauty in the female form, are you ever tempted to paint more males?
I do occasionally paint boys—but they tend to pose more than the girls! Also, I understand what goes on in a girls head far more than I do a boys! I have always been interested in the portrayal of women by men, the objectification and the male gaze. I like to think that the women in my paintings are subjects rather than objects. Although beautiful and often sensual, they have a sense of self; often it is the viewer intruding on their space and territory rather than the subject waiting for the viewers gaze.
Given that many of your paintings are so intimate and contemplative; is it tough to persuade models to bare all when they sit for you?
Bribery works a treat! The gift of a lovely slip or a new set of bra and knickers seems to work well, along with a glass of wine to relax! My friends are all very beautiful and patient girls. Because they are friends, they are more able to be at ease for me, which is so important as it adds to the degree of realism. For example, when I paint a girl in the bath, she needs to be able to relax and almost pretend I am not there, so that the resulting pose is as natural as possible.
‘Daybreak’appears to show a woman waking up, struggling to face the day ahead. She is trying to find the beauty in the complexity of the outside world but can’t see past her internal sadness. Are we way off?
Not too far off – but I like to think the strong blue sky and the bright sunlight add a little glimmer of hope—she can’t be too unhappy with spotted pink knickers on!
Aside from your art, what gets you out of bed in the morning?
I’ve turned into a morning person these days, and Pluto, my large spotted Dalmatian, generally makes sure I am up and about to take him to the park most mornings. I also compete in equestrian circles – low levels – as I tend to fall off a fair bit! I do three day eventing, so a good gallop around the trails at Terrey Hills (where I keep my horse) cheers me up no end!
If you were to paint yourself in one of your stories, what would you be doing?
I quite fancy doing a tongue-in-cheek equestrian portrait of myself – but I guess, I can see a part of myself in all the figures.
Which human emotion do you find the most fascinating?
I like melancholy without despair, hope without expectation…
At the end of the day, what do you hope people will take away from your art?
A sense of quietness and stillness from our otherwise hectic existences.
Interview by Clare Press,
VOGUE, Australia, March 2007
How did you start? Did you come from an arty family? At what point did you think: okay this is it, I am a going to be a painter (as opposed to a lawyer/doctor/nurse/botanist who paints in her spare time)?
My mum is an artist and as a child I was always allowed to use her materials, so I was constantly making things- and a mess! In kindergarten I decided I wanted to be an artist or a jockey, but my size and ability to fall off horses (still do) ruled out the last career option! I have always pursued a career as an artist and went straight from secondary school to the Canberra School of Art. I think I had a certain amount of naive optimism.
Your work has been called filmic – do you agree? It’s certainly hyper real, almost like a photograph…
I view my paintings like film stills, as though they are part of a story, so the viewer is left to wonder what happened before and after that moment. The women in the paintings tend to be caught up in some sort of internal struggle or thoughts that we are not privy to. I work from photographs that I stage myself. The photograph is integral to my working process as it captures those fleeting moments of light and shadow. Some paintings take many months to complete, so the camera is a necessary tool to document all the detail such as reflections, light and tone. I shy away from the terms hyper real and photorealism, as in the flesh, the paintings are full of brush marks, glazes and the painted surface is evident and an important quality in the work.
It isn’t afraid to be beautiful – how does beauty figure in your work and your view of the world?
Beauty is such a difficult concept to quantify as it is so subjective. In all my years of study the word “beauty” was often used as a pejorative term, to indicate something superficial or trite, but I have never been able to relinquish the desire to paint (what I believe to be) beautiful images. I see beauty in the everyday, in the simple grace of a movement or the curve of the lip of a bath, in the reflection of fabric on skin, it is everywhere. I rely on a natural beauty in the work. I photograph my models in their own homes and I prefer not to alter their environments to overly ‘stage’ the compositions. I don’t style the girls in any particular way. They choose their own clothing, make-up and accessories which we then discuss and agree upon the elements that will create the best effect. I rely on natural light to give beauty to the situation and the model. I paint images that I find appealing, depending on composition, colour and mood.
You’re friends are your models, right? How do you persuade them to sit?
Bribery works a treat! The gift of a lovely slip or a new set of bra and knickers seems to work well, along with a glass of wine to relax!! My friends are all very beautiful and patient girls. Because they are friends, they are more able to be at ease for me, which is so important as it adds to the degree of realism. For example, when I paint a girl in the bath, she needs to be able to relax and almost pretend I am not there, so that the resulting pose is as natural as possible.
Who and what inspires you?
I have so many influences! I spend a fortune buying books on art and film on the internet and I now have a great reference library. I find endless inspiration in the work of painters such as Carravaggio, Vermeer, Edward Hopper, Eric Fischl, Lucian Freud, and photographers Jeff Wall and Bill Henson. Film, both old and contemporary, also informs my work. Hitchcock has been a long standing favorite, because of the simplicity and strength of the framing of his scenes and the use of the single light source.
Some of my closest friends are also talented artists and their working practice and artistic achievements keeps me on my toes! No conversation would be complete without mentioning my trusty Dalmatian, Pluto. He is a constant source of inspiration and regularly models for me. He also keeps me company in the studio all day!
Dogs 2003 / 04 ( featuring Pluto )
Story by Ingrid Kesa …..
Anwen Keeling’s realist paintings seem to intentionally play on the intrinsic voyeurism humans possess, making viewers feel as though they have interrupted a very private moment. Like a filmstill, they offer an intimate glimpse into a fragmented narrative.
Blurring the boundaries between public and private, Anwen’s artworks are evocative, sensual and ambiguous, with an underlying sensitivity towards all aspects of femininity. As the cliché puts it, a picture tells a thousand words, and Anwen wants such stories to be open for interpretation.
“I guess being female, I relate to the female form,” Anwen explains in reference to the women she so realistically renders on her canvases. “I think there is much beauty in the softness and curves of the female form. This is something that has been celebrated throughout the history of art, albeit mostly by male painters in the past.”
Here Anwen is talking about art critic John Berger’s theory of the gaze, and the way in which male painters have historically structured the female figure for the sexual gratification of an explicitly male audience.
While Anwen’s work still has a certain and somewhat brooding sexuality to it, she paints from her own perspective, effectively subverting the dominant tradition of the female as an object and instead imbuing her wholly in the unfolding action.
“I like the sense of an implied narrative, but everything is open to interpretation,” Anwen says of her artwork. “I like to provide enough information to interest people or imply that there is more to the image than what you see. I love reading and often I see my paintings like a page from a novel or a still from a film. It’s up to the viewer to elaborate on the rest of the story.”
Despite this desire for the viewer to create their own anecdote around her work, Anwen admits that she infuses her paintings with her own subjective experiences. “Often I look back and think, ‘oops, I really was mad at my boyfriend at the time’,” she laughs, “but my paintings are fairly sad, and I am very happy.”
We wonder if Anwen can choose a favourite artwork, taking into account each one’s personal significance?
“I particularly like “Drifting”, which is of a girl in a bath, and one of my dalmatians on my grandfather’s couch with a particularly lurid floral pattern. There are a few others that I think are special, but there is no accounting for taste!”
Hinting at the idea that her artwork may act as a catharsis, she adds in a very Zen-like manner, “Perhaps I can let any angst out in them, and have a more balanced life.”
Considering the depth of detail in her artworks, it is no surprise that her artistic process is arduous.
“I set up my models in a scenario and generally discuss a story about what has happened and try to get them to tap into some sort of emotion. Then I take plenty of photos and depending on the model’s patience, sometimes I do quick sketches. I then play around on Photoshop until I get an image that I am happy with.” And this is just the first step. “I then work out a scale and get my canvas made to order at the specific size from the best art shop in the world – Parkers in The Rocks.”
Next, the artist will make sketches with willow charcoal, sometimes using griding if the painting involves a complex perspective, and follow this by working quickly and loosely with a very thin, wash-like paint to block in the image.
“Sometimes I wish I had left the work at that point, when the loose underpainting is really strong, but then I get all tight and detailed on top.” At this stage, she explains that she works in layers of thin glaze over the whole picture “until I decide it’s done!” Depending on the scale, it can take over a month to complete a painting, with a minimum of a couple weeks per piece.
When asked about her favoured materials to work with, she answers “oils, oils, oils! And Belgium linen – a fine smooth hand primed linen with a soft, slightly chalky feel – as well as beautiful quality paints and brushes.”
While her repertoire ranges from female figures, dogs and high heels to domestic interiors and beyond, heads, hands and horses are always among her favourite things to paint. The most difficult, she tells us, is feet.
Besides taking inspiration from old-school screen sirens, Anwen is currently going through what she describes as a “George Stubbs fetish,” referring to the English artist known best for his paintings of horses. “I really fancy myself as the next Georgette Stubbs!” she says.
“All my friends are getting married and having babies so it’s harder to find models. I’ve looked into another area of my life for inspiration – horses.”
When she’s not working, Anwen spends her time riding her own horse and tells us that her next show will be an equestrian series, of which the first paintings are hanging as finalists in the Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
So what is she working on at the moment? “A mighty fine steed,” she says with a smile.
Heels 2001
