Paul Fairweather Exhibitors of exuberance, Mostyn Bramley-Moore: a tribute to Michael Milburn

Paul Fairweather had planned to paint Michael Milburn last year at the request of Milburn’s wife Valerie Pringle. Fairweather and Milburn were good friends, and Milburn, a well-known gallery owner in Brisbane was ill. Unfortunately Milburn died, at the age of 39, before Fairweather could paint him. Wanting to pay tribute to him, Fairweather approached Mostyn Bramley-Moore, an artist whom Milburn had represented, to suggest the idea of a double portrait showing Bramley-Moore reading Milburn’s obituary. The headline of the obituary was “Exhibitor of exuberance”, hence the title of Fairweather’s portrait. Bramley-Moore was more than happy to be involved.

A contemporary artist and an academic, Bramley-Moore is currently director and provost of the Queensland College of Arts at Griffith University. His work has been previously included in the Wynne Prize. There were a couple of sittings at which Fairweather did several drawings, followed by another to start the painting. “It flowed very well. I was surprised actually,” says Fairweather. “But I was doing it for a reason, as a tribute to a really good friend and I think that’s what comes across.” Fairweather does not do many portraits. Usually he paints landscapes, still lifes and figurative pieces. An architect by profession, he is the director of a practice in Brisbane. As a visual artist, he is largely self-taught.