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If he doesn’t have a paintbrush in his hand it’s likely he’ll have a guitar because Peter O’Doherty is as much a musician and songwriter as he is a painter.

It wasn’t long after leaving high school that he filled in for a guitarist of his brother’s band who had gone on holidays and ended up never leaving. That band was Mental As Anything which rocketed to fame in Australia in the late 70s and 80s.

During those years he taught himself to paint and that life – immersed in music and art – continues to this day.

O’Doherty’s paintings are mostly landscapes, many of them focussing on the manmade environment: fibro houses, red brick apartment blocks, cityscapes, quintessentially Australian. But he has also painted domestic still lifes: retro armchairs, a closeup of the washing up in the kitchen sink.

His work has been recognised with awards including the Paddington art prize and he has exhibited in over 30 solo shows in Australia and New Zealand.

But what I found most fascinating about our conversation were the parallels he drew between painting and music which added an extra dimension to how I view his work.

To hear the conversation press play under the feature photo above.

A short video of O’Doherty talking with Maria Stoljar in his studio is now on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel

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Links to things and people we talk about in the show

 

‘North east corner Dee Why’, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 137 x 152cm

‘New apartments’ 2017, acrylic on canvas, 61 x 61cm  We talk about this painting at

‘Windows’,  2017, acrylic on board, 40 x 40cm  We talk about this painting at 28m45s

 

‘Gums’, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 46 x 40cm   We talk about this painting at 30m45s

‘Coke sign’, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 40cm

‘Kingsford red block’, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 182 x 213cm

‘Striped Lounge Chair’, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 122 x 122cm

‘In The Sink’, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 122 x 137cm

 

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