Dimensions
About the artwork
I mucked around with the idea for this painting for a long time. And had several false starts. Putting two figures in a portrait isn’t necessarily easy for your composition, but in the end I found a way to make it work and executed the final piece quite quickly.
About the sitter
Matthew and Daniel Tobin started Urban Art Projects in Brisbane in 1993. Now a global company, UAP is recognised world-round as a leader in public art and architectural design solutions.
About the artist
Keith Burt is a Brisbane artist who works across landscape, portraiture and still life painting. He has been a finalist in the Archibald prize twice, first in 2017 with a portrait of QAGOMA Assistant Director, Tarragh Cunningham, and again in 2019, depicting Queensland-born writer and journalist, Benjamin Law.
“I wrestled with the arrangement for a long time before settling on the final "bus seat" pose. ”
Behind the scenes
Dan and Matt are great friends of mine and I have been keen to paint them for some time.
Turns out putting two people in one portrait is quite problematic, it alters the focus and complicates the composition. I wrestled with the arrangement for a long time before settling on the final “bus seat” pose. I think it works, I want them to look visionary, as their work at UAP is.
