The source of the paintings came about after being invited along to the Ekka – Royal Queensland show – by friend and fellow painter Lucy Culliton, herself renowned for painting a number of series documenting the Sydney Royal Show. Archer used his time there as the base, using Degas and Toulouse Lautrec as inspiration for the composition.
In Focus: Archer Davies
We visited Archer Davies - a good friend of Knickerbocker NYC and the team here in Australia - at his studio in Brunswick to see what was going on in his head and on his canvas - and anything else that cropped up along the way - as he sits in the middle of finishing a new series of works going to the Jan Murphy gallery in Brisbane
Photography by Chris Pickings with words by Ben Martin
The sketches of the event plus those inspirations create a beautiful amalgam that renders the pieces timeless, with amazing movement and light. Working with the subject of horses and animals in his last project this is a natural further exploration of themes of carnival and show spectacle
Five years ago, Archer transformed this shed here in Brunswick into his workspace, building walls, adding skylights, even insulating the roof to make the space functional and his own. Despite the comfort I personally felt inside, Archer said, returning each morning is where the anxiety lies, the constant thought of only being as good as the last painting.
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Ben: What are the rituals involved in your daily routine?
Archer: I’ll make a cup of coffee and then sit in the chair and read for a while, procrastinate, then procrastinate a little more and finally around 1pm I will start to work. There are a few hours after that when I’m at my most productive.
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B: Do you listen to music?
A: I do listen to music. Recently I’ve started listening to poems on Spotify and now my algorithm thinks that is music and so my ‘daily mix’ will include poems and songs. The words can be comforting and it somehow closes off a part of the brain and opens up new possibilities.
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B: Consciously you probably didn’t think about this and retrospectively you’ll never know BUT, coming from a family of painters, did you find it hard to find your own style?
A: It is not something I consciously ever thought of, no. I grew up drawing Batman, I was obsessed. it was all about action and movement which is still a part of my work. It wasn’t until high school that painting became my interest. When I was around 5 we were pretty broke and so my mum made a batman suit out of paper mâché, blue gumboots, women’s tights, my dad’s belt and a little cape. At the time it seemed to me to be a perfect recreation of the original. One thing I never had was parents who resisted what I was doing so I was privileged to have their support.
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B: Have you ever thought of doing a family show?
A: Yes I’d love to do a show with Freda (Sister) and my mum. My dad makes furniture too. Hopefully soon.
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B: Your own personal style is a delicate balance between subtlety and a considered choice, without being extravagant or superficial. I also like the fact that I rarely see anyone dressed like you. Were you always interested in clothes and if so when did you know and why do you think it was the case?
A: I was always interested in clothes, or at least in costumes. The Batman costume I described was the first of many. As I got older I wanted them to be just right, to look like the real deal, later I think this childhood obsession naturally matured into an interest in clothing, a more adult form of dress-ups.
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B: Clothing is a lot about silhouette, lines and colour, a bit like painting, do you consciously process any of that when choosing the clothes you love or the fashion you love on others?
A: I love colour in clothes but silhouette and lines are the thing I most look for. I love the drape and movement of fabric when it is cut and tailored thoughtfully. I think it’s most important in pants.
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B: Lastly, stupid bonus trivia question, is there any living figure you would love to paint in person? Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
A: There is a French impressionist painter called Berthe Morisot. She is one of the first impressionists. I’ve learned a little about her recently in the book ‘Paris in Ruins’ by Sebastian Smee. Through her letters she comes across as such a thoughtful, intelligent person with a lot of depth. She was frequently a subject in Manet’s paintings. I would love to meet her and hear about Paris in the 1870’s!
Things I learnt during the interview that require further reading. A plan to turn Melbourne’s Elizabeth Street into a rainforest canal via the the underground creek that ran below.
