Jack Featherstone, Alpine Ash Bark Painting

JACK FEATHERSTONE (Australian, b. 1930 ) Oil on Alpine Ash timber #dimensions tbc Acquired 218 #Inventory/Catalogue No. TBC

Biography:

Based in New South Wales, Jack Featherstone is an artist best known for his expansive landscape paintings often painted on bark or other natural materials. His work depicts real life events and landscapes, invariably imbued with a subtle otherworldliness.

Featherstone moved to Sydney in the 1930s and worked as a dentist his whole life. Largely self-taught he began exploring the moving image in 1950 and working with oil paints in 1960, employing unorthodox tools such as nails instead of brushes and boots instead of canvases.

In 1975 he exhibited at the Willoughby Arts Centre and in 2010 held a solo show at the Canberra School of Art after meeting with Nigel Lendon from the ANU School of Art. He continues to paint today.

The artwork:

Typical of Featherstone’s work, this painting depicts a serendipitous moment when the artist passed by a community event taking place in a nearby car park on the grounds of the University.

The scene is of members of the artist’s local community dancing and singing to a band, framed by dappled light passing through the surrounding trees. The work is painted on a prepared 5ft length of alpine ash, unusual in its shape and thickness. Featherstone used the unique texture to create a sense of movement and ebullience, and typical of his work the scene is painted from an aerial perspective with a vivid, cheerful palette.

Bibliography:

Doherty, M., 2021, ‘The life of a Braidwood artist who has been invited to show his work at the age of 91’, accessed 22nd February 2023, https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7104009/loveable-eccentric-invited-to-show-art-at-age-91/

Rea, A., 2021, ‘New exhibition to feature six decades of artwork from Jack Featherstone’, accessed 22nd February 2023, https://aboutregional.com.au/new-exhibition-to-feature-six-decades-of-artwork-from-jack-featherstone/