Paul Ryan Richard, arms folded

Richard Tognetti is the dynamic artistic director of the internationally acclaimed Australian Chamber Orchestra. Paul Ryan has known him since they were 15 and 14 respectively. ‘His brother Simon, who is a potter, is a very good friend of mine,’ says Ryan. ‘We have shared a house together and surfed together so I have spent a lot of time at the Mudgee Music Festival [of which Tognetti is artistic director] and at family barbeques.’

Ryan painted Tognetti last year and the portrait was hung in the Salon des Refuses so he was keen to have another go. ‘He’s such a busy person that when he sat for me there were times when he seemed slightly pissed off at having to take the time off to do it, so I’ve caught a bit of a smirk. He’s so successful and dynamic that people generally see his public face as a high achiever but there’s another side to him, which I wanted to capture. Having him with his arms folded gives him a slightly defensive feel.’

Ryan doesn’t paint many portraits though his painting of actor Chris Haywood was hung in the 1993 Archibald Prize. ‘I love painting portraits but they are probably the most difficult thing to paint,’ he says. He also paints big still lives and landscapes. ‘I’ve chopped and changed my style a bit over the years. I’ve always used fairly thick paint but last year I started using a palette knife which is so much more versatile for thick paint than a brush. This was painted with a mix of brush and palette knife. There’s a lot of texture on the face because of all the fine-tuning.’

Born in Auckland, Ryan moved to Australia when he was eight. He went to school in Australia, New Zealand, America and England. His wife is from Java so he has also lived in Indonesia. He now lives in Thirroul, NSW. He has had annual solo exhibitions since 1987 and has exhibited in many group shows. In 1989 he was a finalist in the Sulman, Blake and Dobell Drawing Prizes. He won the Faber-Castell Drawing Prize in 1987 and this year’s Thirroul Art Prize.