Firstly the wonderful announcement that Nigel won the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture with his image of Richard Woldendorp! A very notable achievement which has provided much to celebrate. The Archibald Prize is the next destination for the image in 2010.
There is also a plan in the woodwork to do another portrait, this time of Robert Juniper. Because the development of the portrait of Richard was so interesting this time we have had the idea to photograph the image at every stage of its development, often many times a day and put the images into flash to create filmic documentation of the development of the work from inception to completion. The film will be posted on this very blog!
I have also included below some images that I have taken in the studio over the past week which show repairs and dramatic changes to some of the images. Although scary looking, these images demonstrate the flexibility of this wax medium. Showing that dramatic changes can be made at any and every stage of the works development. It certainly sends shivers down the spines of those of us who have traditionally seen the integrity of the surface of the image as valuable if not somewhat sacred. But I also get the feeling that that this is just the beginning of the possibilities that this medium will offer.
