BRETT WHITELEY
Brett Whiteley is associated with Sydney and its harbour in a way that no other artist of our time is. He depicts the glistening, emerald waters with the city beyond in his unmistakably characteristic palette and the gestural arcs of his ink brush. Whiteleys most famous and well-loved works are undoubtedly the harbour views which he drew, etched and painted from his home in Lavender Bay. We have all come to know this view of Sydney because he painted and drew it so often. He has given us our modern Sydney. Before him, there was Lloyd Rees Sydney and before that, the Sydney of Arthur Streeton.1
Whiteley was a compulsive draughtsman, he would fill notebooks to the brim with his pencil, charcoal and ink sketches of the innumerable subjects he chose. From the beginning of his career as an artist with the advertising company, Lintas, through to the end of his distinguished career, Whiteley would use drawing as a vehicle for his creative efforts. To him, drawing was a skill which was as important, if not more important, than painting. Whiteleys admiration of the English artist, Francis Bacon (1909-1992), perhaps confirmed in his own mind the fundamental necessity of the practice of drawing. In the work of both Whiteley and Bacon, the pencil, charcoal and ink structures beneath the paint are an integral part of the finished work.
Ink was a medium which Whiteley mastered early on in his career and favoured by him as a means of quickly capturing the essence of his subject. When using ink, there was no rehearsal and the result was always something which had not existed before, a revelation. I have three or four ways of drawingbut, I find the big, sloppy Chinese ink brush, if one can crack a drawing in that medium, I think of them as my highest drawings.2
Whiteley worked at a frenzied pace and drawing was for him like big game hunting.3 When he was in his studio, he would play loud music to create a dynamic atmosphere and through his drawing, he found a release for this creative energy within him. In this work, Wind from the East, Whiteleys extraordinary draughtsmanship is evident - the placement of each ink mark, although not technically perfect, comes together to create an unmistakably perfect Whiteley composition charged with his own personality.
The view in this work is iconic Sydney Harbour, a subject depicted by Whiteley at various stages throughout his life. The home he shared at Lavender Bay with his wife, Wendy, and daughter, Arkie, became a bountiful source of inspiration for him, both its interiors and outlook. In 1974, Whiteley held an exhibition of Lavender Bay works which can be seen as the beginning of the artists mature phase. The works in this show marked a departure from the politics and foreboding which had occupied Whiteleys earlier work. In Whiteleys own words, his Lavender Bay works begin from the premise of recording the glimpse seen at the highest point of affection points of optical ecstasy.4
Whiteleys affection for Lavender Bay is evident from the large body of work produced in response to its beauty and tranquillity. Wind from the East is characteristic of his best ink drawings of this desirable subject and demonstrates his unmatched skill as both an artist and draughtsman.
Caroline Jones MA (Art Admin.)
1. Klepac, L., Brett Whiteley Drawings, The Beagle Press, 2014, p.24
2. Ibid p.12
3. James Gleeson interview with Brett Whiteley, for the National Gallery of Australia, 15 May 1979, cited in Klepac, L., Brett Whiteley Drawings, The Beagle Press, 2014, p.21
4. Brett Whiteley quoted in the exhibition catalogue, Lavender Bay Series, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 19 November 3 December 1974