Sports Portraits by Megan Roodenrys: Andrew McLeod does some modelling in the Adelaide City region of South Australia
Lincoln National Park at the tip of Eyre Peninsula is a world away from the grunt and physical grind of AFL football. One day, when the footy career is over, I hope to get there by following the brush stokes of local artist Megan Roodenrys I get a sense of just how wild and remote this spectacular part of South Australia really is.
Megan Roodenrys, Artist: "It's a seascape landscape which is not something I usually do. But I find it a relaxing change to painting people because mainly I paint portraits and figurative studies."
While seascapes are not typical of Megan's work, transporting AFL footballers into familiar landscapes they know and love certainly is. On the field Freemantle Docker Aaron Sandliands is a giant, as imposing as the distant pine trees surrounding him in Megan's painting of him set on the sands of Leighton Beach in Perth.
Megan Roodenrys, Artist: "He particularly wanted to be on the beach in the evening. He wanted that kind of relaxed feeling at the end of the day."
It's not surprising Aaron would choose a spot away from the floodlights, cameras and crowds of the AFL. I chose something similar last year for Megan's piece entitled Saltwater Man, which the Adelaide Football Club commissioned as part of the lead-up celebrations for my 300th game.
Training at West Lakes is a long way from Eastern Point Reserve in Darwin - the backdrop for this portrait. But the chances of me getting back to Darwin during a busy AFL schedule are slim. So I was rapt with what Megan achieved with reference to a few photos, her own memories of Darwin and the sittings we shared in her backyard shed cum studio.
Megan Roodenrys, Artist: "As a portrait it's the story of the person - that's what portrait is about. Trying to get a sense of a person's story in a short time is quite hard if they don't have a really good idea of themselves. You were excellent to work with because you had a good sense of self and had really strong ideas about how you were represented and what was important to you."
The spear is typical of the kind used by my people - the Wagadam. The tattoos on the chest are for my kids Maddy and Connor - and the backdrop is where I spend a lot of my youth on days when the Darwin storm clouds were rolling in during what the locals call the "build up".
Megan Roodenrys has a pretty amazing artistic pedigree in which high performance sport has always figured prominently… with her mother Bronwyn carving out quite a reputation for her sophisticated naïve depictions of sporting meccas - like our very own Adelaide Oval come Test time.
It's no surprise then that the daughter should follow in her mother's brush strokes bringing to life on canvas those who dominate on the sports field.
Megan's also depicted the painful journey of former Brownlow Medal winner and West Coast Eagles Premiership captain Ben Cousins. Like the rest of us, Megan watched his football career unravel on the nightly news.
For Megan the artist, Cousins the footballer was the perfect subject for her entry in this year's Archibald Prize.
Megan Roodenrys, Artist: "The media representation is not all that is there. And sometimes that's why it is interesting to do it - to see so much of something and yet not see it. It makes it a very intriguing thing for me or artists to explore. You know what's really there."
For Megan, the Cousins saga was worth exploring on canvas. She chose the setting of the lonely hotel bed, typical of life on the road for any AFL footballer. The trick then was gaining Ben's trust and guiding him through three poses, all telling a story of loneliness and addiction.
Megan Roodenrys, Artist: "He was quite open to that and discussing what the painting is about. It's about recovery and vulnerability and working a way through that. He was very open to working through that. That was something he wanted to say."
Gaining the trust of the subject - particularly those who've learnt to guard their privacy is no mean feat. But Megan's done it with so many top-flight athletes. From Brant Chambers at the Sturt Football Club to Matthew Pavlich on Cottesloe Beach, and a bloke who loved nothing more than spearing a few fish off the coast of Darwin.
Megan Roodenry's work will be on show at Richmond Road Studios as part of SALA Week on Sunday August 9th and Sunday August 16th 2009.
Richmond Road Studios
Sunday August 9th, Sunday August 16th.
Call Michelle on 8271 7007Published 2nd August 2009
