Pittwater Life September 2019 Issue

Art Life
Art Life
Jackson’s talent
runs in the family
Jackson Davies was destined
to become an artist – his
great great grandfather was a
miniaturist for Queen Victoria
and his great grandfather was a
portrait painter too.
“I suppose the artistic
inclination is in the family,” the
26-year-old from Mona Vale
tells Pittwater Life.
But he says winning this
year’s Northern Beaches Art
Prize (General Section) was
beyond his wildest dreams.
“I have never won anything
before – I was completely
surprised!” Jackson said after
his brooding oil painting ‘Wer
mich liebet, der wird mein Wort
halten’ (The one who loves
me will keep my promise) was
awarded the $6000 first prize.
Jackson started art classes at
age 10.
“I have been fortunate to
have had some very passionate
teachers encourage me along
the way,” he said. “I lived in
Paris for a while, and I tried to
soak up as much art history as I
could – I am particularly fond of
the Old Masters painters.”
However, he finds it difficult
to pigeon-hole his style.
“I am definitely a figurative
painter, the portrait and nude
are great subjects for oil painting,”
he said. “Oil paint gives an
artist the capacity to physically
mimic flesh on the canvas.
“On the other hand, oil paint
can be applied impasto, which
can be used to model, almost
sculpt a figure on the canvas. I
like to be realistic, but I certainly
do not want to be photorealistic
– it is always interesting
to see an artist who has
wrestled and engaged with the
painting, rather than a precise
reproduction of a photo.”
He spent two months work-
ing on his wining artwork.
“It took quite a while... I usually
start a painting with great
enthusiasm, and I think that it
won’t take long to paint,” he
said.
“Yet it always drags on for
weeks... I make changes, or
try to refine passages. I finish
working on it one day satisfied,
then the following morning I
want to throw it away! I feel like
a painting is only complete after
I have sufficiently slaved over
it for a couple of months.”
He said the painting title
comes from a Bach cantata; (“I
prefer to leave it open for interpretation.
I enjoy listening to
people’s take on it.”)
EYES ON THE
PRIZE: Mona Vale’s
Jackson Davies.
Jackson hopes to make a living
out of his art.
“It is the only thing I want to
do, everything else gets in the
way,” he said. “It is great having
time to paint but usually financial
reality hits at some point
and interrupts painting, which is
a pain, but life I suppose.
“I want to keep developing
my painting; more complex
compositions, more refinement
of technique, greater understanding
of art history. The
challenge of the next painting is
always exciting.”
And the one portrait subject
he’d like to paint?
“The Queen of course, for
royal patronage.” – Nigel Wall
40 SEPTEMBER 2019
The Local Voice Since 1991