Race for the Prize - Flaming Lips, 2008

3 (0.65m x 0.45m), £1800 for triptych

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This is a triptych of a close friend who speaks very little but has passionate and strong views. I wanted to paint a few of his facial expressions in order to sum the man up and describe his character. I took many photos of him the nights before I travelled to Melbourne, Australia in 2007 to work for a few years.

 

I spent all my time in Melbourne working on these canvases. The man's passion is music - he listens to it, makes it and explores it. At the time the band he listened to was Flaming Lips and this track in particular was one of his favourites. For me this sums up the brilliant time in Melbourne - I remember working on it at night after work, in the heat of the Australian night. The last time I picked up a brush and painted this was the night before my severe traumatic brain injury in September 2008.