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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
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ink on paper
Collection of Nicholas Harding and Lynne Watkins
Residents of Sydney, Harding and his wife Lynne Watkins travel repeatedly to the north coast of New South Wales, and often visit other places he’s keen to paint, such as the Flinders Ranges. In recent years, too, they’ve made many overseas trips, usually to see art galleries and particular exhibitions. While flying, Harding’s made scores of furtive drawings of his fellow passengers. They vividly evoke the alternate cosiness and tedium of air travel, as well as its occasional passages of nausea. The young man in close-up profile on the Jetstar bag is Harding’s son, Sam, whom his father’s been drawing since birth.
Nicholas Harding: 28 portraits features paintings of Robert Drewe, John Bell and Hugo Weaving alongside gorgeously coloured recent oil portraits, delicate gouaches and bold ink and charcoal drawings.
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