Phil Henshall’s portrait of chef Malcolm Bain won the top prize in the Archies Bald Portrait Prize.
By Catherine Watson
THE EYES are the hardest. Phil Henshall has looked at lots of photos of Malcolm Bain but the eyes are eluding him.
“Mmmm,” says Malcolm’s mother, Annie Bain. She doesn’t want to discourage the artist but the eyes aren’t quite right.
“When Malcolm spoke to you, he often looked over the top of his glasses,” she says. “And his eyes twinkled.”
Glasses … twinkle. They’re the clues Phil needs. He has another go. Malcolm is standing in Annie’s kitchen holding a plate of sushi. He’s looking at someone to his left, out of the frame. His glasses are half way down his nose and he’s deep in thought.
THE EYES are the hardest. Phil Henshall has looked at lots of photos of Malcolm Bain but the eyes are eluding him.
“Mmmm,” says Malcolm’s mother, Annie Bain. She doesn’t want to discourage the artist but the eyes aren’t quite right.
“When Malcolm spoke to you, he often looked over the top of his glasses,” she says. “And his eyes twinkled.”
Glasses … twinkle. They’re the clues Phil needs. He has another go. Malcolm is standing in Annie’s kitchen holding a plate of sushi. He’s looking at someone to his left, out of the frame. His glasses are half way down his nose and he’s deep in thought.
The next time Annie comes into the studio, she doesn’t speak. A tear rolls down her cheek.
“Got him!” thinks Phil.
“Got him!” thinks Phil.
*****
In the Archies Creek Hall last Friday night the judges of the first Archies Bald Portrait Prize thought so too, awarding Rokeby artist Phil Henshall first prize for his portrait of Malcolm Bain.
Malcolm, the son of Phil’s partner Annie Bain, was born with an auto-immune condition and battled ill health for much of his life. Cooking was his passion. Though increasingly frail, he remained a professional chef to the end, supervising his last orders from a wheelchair four days before he died of multiple organ failure in 2015.
The brief for the prize was simple: a 2D or 3D portrait of someone who is bald through sickness, alopecia or by choice. It was devised in honour of Deb Reilly, Bass Coast’s 2019 Citizen of the Year, who lost her hair during chemotherapy. Deb died in April.
Henshall isn’t a portrait painter (he is best known for his distinctive landscapes) but, like most of the region’s artists, rose to the artistic challenge and the occasion.
He had never met Malcolm but by the time he finished the painting felt he knew quite a bit about him.
“I had a lot of Annie’s albums and people described him to me. Having known Annie’s kitchen at Campbell Street placed him in context. It all came together.
“Then a couple of happy accidents: the way I had his head tilted and the glasses half way down his nose gave him a special Malcolm look.
“I was surprised myself how well it came out. I thought it was a good painting, but I didn’t expect to win. There were some bloody good portraits there.”
For what started off as “a little bit of fun”, the response to the Archies Bald Portrait Prize from both artists and viewers exceeded organisers’ wildest dreams.
In all there were 112 entries, about a quarter of them 3D works. More than 600 people viewed the exhibition over the four days, including some 180 at the Biggest Morning Tea, a fund-raiser for the Cancer Council.
Sixteen of the works were sold, with prices ranging from $12 for baldy pins to $2800 for Shane Collier’s painting Monkey in Repose, the People's Choice.
Organiser Liane Arno said the idea for a portrait prize was a joint one from Gaston Vanzet (a graphic designer, artist and member of the Archies Creek Hall committee) and Helen Laing (ArtSpace committee member and Cancer Council volunteer).
It was John Mutsaers who came up with the full name of the Archies Bald Portrait Prize and the opening line - "It's a little bit unique - it's a bit silly".
Later when Liane was helping Deb Reilly with her memoir and learned that she had been taunted because of her bald head through chemotherapy. “I had a light bulb moment and said why don't we have an exhibition celebrating the beauty of the hairless head.”
She said the success of the prize and exhibition were the result of a huge amount of work and creativity by artists, volunteers and sponsors and curiosity by the public.
2019 Archies Bald Portrait Prize winners
ArtSpace Wonthaggi will show the Archies Bald Portrait Prize winning works as part of its Winter Solstice Exhibition starting on June 17.
Malcolm, the son of Phil’s partner Annie Bain, was born with an auto-immune condition and battled ill health for much of his life. Cooking was his passion. Though increasingly frail, he remained a professional chef to the end, supervising his last orders from a wheelchair four days before he died of multiple organ failure in 2015.
The brief for the prize was simple: a 2D or 3D portrait of someone who is bald through sickness, alopecia or by choice. It was devised in honour of Deb Reilly, Bass Coast’s 2019 Citizen of the Year, who lost her hair during chemotherapy. Deb died in April.
Henshall isn’t a portrait painter (he is best known for his distinctive landscapes) but, like most of the region’s artists, rose to the artistic challenge and the occasion.
He had never met Malcolm but by the time he finished the painting felt he knew quite a bit about him.
“I had a lot of Annie’s albums and people described him to me. Having known Annie’s kitchen at Campbell Street placed him in context. It all came together.
“Then a couple of happy accidents: the way I had his head tilted and the glasses half way down his nose gave him a special Malcolm look.
“I was surprised myself how well it came out. I thought it was a good painting, but I didn’t expect to win. There were some bloody good portraits there.”
For what started off as “a little bit of fun”, the response to the Archies Bald Portrait Prize from both artists and viewers exceeded organisers’ wildest dreams.
In all there were 112 entries, about a quarter of them 3D works. More than 600 people viewed the exhibition over the four days, including some 180 at the Biggest Morning Tea, a fund-raiser for the Cancer Council.
Sixteen of the works were sold, with prices ranging from $12 for baldy pins to $2800 for Shane Collier’s painting Monkey in Repose, the People's Choice.
Organiser Liane Arno said the idea for a portrait prize was a joint one from Gaston Vanzet (a graphic designer, artist and member of the Archies Creek Hall committee) and Helen Laing (ArtSpace committee member and Cancer Council volunteer).
It was John Mutsaers who came up with the full name of the Archies Bald Portrait Prize and the opening line - "It's a little bit unique - it's a bit silly".
Later when Liane was helping Deb Reilly with her memoir and learned that she had been taunted because of her bald head through chemotherapy. “I had a light bulb moment and said why don't we have an exhibition celebrating the beauty of the hairless head.”
She said the success of the prize and exhibition were the result of a huge amount of work and creativity by artists, volunteers and sponsors and curiosity by the public.
2019 Archies Bald Portrait Prize winners
- Malcolm Crichton Bain by Phil Henshall (1st prize 2D)
- Twice Fired Head by Ray Dahlstrom (1st prize 3D)
- Sam by Janice Orchard (2nd prize 2D)
- Archie Roach by Pat Wishart (2nd prize 3D)
- Sadly Defiant by Matt Stone (3rd prize 2D)
- Sharmanic Figure by Meg Viney (3rd prize 3D)
- Monkey in Repose by Shane Collier (People's Choice 2D)
- Embracing Diversity by Matt Stone (People's Choice 3D)
ArtSpace Wonthaggi will show the Archies Bald Portrait Prize winning works as part of its Winter Solstice Exhibition starting on June 17.