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Ingrid Andersen |
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Rachael Gates – Ian Pearce
Ian Pearce is an icon of the Tasmanian jazz scene. He was born in Hobart in 1921 and began playing piano at the age of 12. In the 1930s, he picked up a cornet and, along with his brother Cedric and neighbour Tom Pickering, began imitating the jazz style they heard on recordings by musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. This group became the Barrelhouse Four – founding the jazz music scene in Hobart. The group recorded its first 78 in 1946, and went on (under various names and line-up changes) to record further albums, play countless concerts and dances, as well as regularly play for ABC broadcasts. Ian’s impressive music career spans more than 70 years and continues with his current band, the Ian Pearce Quartet. I first met Ian by chance a number of years ago when I found his lost library card. I happened to be studying the history of jazz at the time, and on returning his card we got talking about music. He had an ageless quality that I thought would be a challenge to try to capture in a portrait. Five years later I plucked up the courage to ask him if he would mind if I painted him. Initially I planned to include references to his musical career within the painting, but rather than limit the portrait by including (perhaps obvious) symbolism, I decided on a more direct approach. The stark natural linen background, and scale and composition of the portrait confronts the viewer and hopefully provokes a moment of contemplation on an amazing life and an impressive person.
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