MSWPS Featured Artist - Sue Jarvis

The featured artist section of the website regularly highlights a Full Member Artist. The artist will have won an award at the latest Changing Perspectives exhibition or the MSWPS Award, chosen by the artist’s peer members.

Currently featured is Sue Jarvis - Servicing An R.A.A.F. Hudson Bomber 1942 . Sue was the recipient of a Highly Commended Award at the 2024 Annual Exhibition.

Artist Statement:

Servicing An R.A.A.F. Hudson Bomber, Northern Territory 1943

This work pays homage to the skilled Australian war photographers of WWI and WWII.

Also coming to mind is my maternal grandfather, Charles Carey McPhee, who, after serving as a chaplain on the Western Front in WWI, facilitated entertainment for the troops in Darwin in WWII.

The painting is inspired by an orphaned image (photographer unknown) from the Bruce Howard Nostalgic Australian Photographs collection of the National Library of Australia. https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn3106909 

The original photograph (23.8 x 20.4cm) is a silver gelatin print, which typically has tonal contrasts and deep darks. I used dark, warm tones combined with Payne’s grey to create unity and warmth. Layering of glazes over paint and wiping back with rags were techniques I used.

By using a larger scale, and simplifying, I concentrated on the symbolism rather than realism of servicemen involved in a common task.

In a tropical setting, all is partly camouflaged by greenery.

In this composition, everything radiates from the central void and propellors.

The subject of the piece draws an empathetic response.

This painting was a Finalist in the Gallipoli Prize, Sydney, 2024. 

Servicing An R.A.A.F Hudson Bomber 1942, Oil on Canvas