
AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER ARTISTS, SIDNEY NOLAN IS WELL RECOGNISED IN THE ART WORLD FOR HIS DRAMATIC CONTRASTS BETWEEN LIGHT AND UPLIFTING CONCEPTIONS TO HIS DARK AND GLUM THEMES. HIS WORKS HAVE ALWAYS INTRODUCED A SENSE OF ORIGINALITY AND SPONTANEITY TO THE ART WORLD. HIS ORIGINALITY CAME ABOUT FROM VAST AMOUNTS OF EXPERIMENTATION WITH BOTH ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS. HE DIDN’T RELY ON A SINGLE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION; RATHER HE TRIED TO DEVELOP HIS OWN CREATIVE IDEOLOGY BY MIXING BOTH HIS OWN TECHNIQUES WITH OTHER VARIOUS SOURCES.
SIDNEY NOLAN’S FORMAL TRAINING BEGAN AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA SCHOOL OF ART. HOWEVER, AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME HERE HE FELT COMPELLED TO EXPLORE AND EDUCATE HIMSELF ABOUT ART. IT WAS DURING THIS TIME THAT NOLAN REALLY DEVELOPED A CONNECTION WITH HIS BIGGEST INFLUENCE, THE FRENCH ROMANTIC POET, AND ARTHUR RIMBAUD. THE IMAGE OF RIMBAUD REPEATEDLY SURFACES IN NOLAN’S WORK AND THUS REINFORCES HIS INFLUENCE AND CONNECTION WITH NOLAN.
SIDNEY NOLAN WAS AN ARTIST WHO PRODUCED A PROLIFIC AMOUNT OF WORK WHICH COVERED A HUGE DIVERSITY OF MEDIUMS. HIS WORKS INCLUDED DRAWINGS, OIL ON CANVAS PAINTINGS, SCREEN PRINTS, LITHOGRAPHS AND COLLAGES. HIS UNASSUMING STYLE OF WORK ISN’T JUST ABOUT SIMPLICITY. HIS WORK EVOKES A SENSE OF MEANING AND PASSION. HE CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF THE SUBJECT WEATHER IT BE A LANDSCAPE OR A FIGURE BY TELLING AN EVER EVOLVING STORY OF SELF INTERPRETATION.
FOR HIS 'KELLY HEAD IN ARID LANDSCAPE' DRAWING HE USED RIPOLIN AND OIL ON BOARD. HIS COOLERS ARE ALSO VERY BRIGHT AND DARK. PERHAPS BEFORE HE STARTS PAINTING HE WASHED THE CANVAS WITH COLOR AND THEN STARTS PAINTING OVER IT.