Carolyn McKay Creecy Nigel Thomson

Nigel Thomson won the 1997 Archibald Prize for his portrait of Barbara Blackman. “He was one of my most inspiring teachers at the Julian Ashton Art School,” says Carolyn McKay-Creecy. “He was the first person to teach me how to paint with oils. Since that time I’ve remained friends with him.”

Thomson is currently struggling with cancer which is why McKay-Creecy’s painting is bleak and dark, conveying the illness and her sadness about it. The reference to William Dobell’s controversial Archibald painting of Joshua Smith “wasn’t conscious”, says McKay-Creecy. Dobell “has been a pretty major influence”, she admits, “but Nigel’s body lends itself to it. He is an elongated person, especially at the moment not being well. I didn’t have to distort him.”

McKay-Creecy admits that she was nervous about painting a former teacher who would certainly have a very definite opinion about the portrait. “I have a great deal of respect for his opinion of my work and he is very honest, often brutally honest. I did one other he absolutely hated which is now in a dark corner of the studio! But he seems to be very happy with this one. I did it very quickly. I try to paint in a very spontaneous manner.”

Born in Newcastle in 1960, McKay-Creecy spent her childhood in Australia, England and Papua New Guinea. She has taken study trips to Europe, America, India and Asia and has worked in London and Tokyo. She studied at the Julian Ashton Art School, the Tom Bass Sculpture School and has had private tuition with various artists including Brian Dunlop, Judy Lane and David Brian Wilson.