Scotch College

A painter in our midst

In 1993, Kynan Sutherland completed VCE Art at Scotch.

In his own words 'working in the art room was great, but the highlight during the year, was the fine arts trip to Canberra. It really changed my perspective on what I wanted to do with my life'. As part of a year twelve art group he visited a range of galleries and art spaces under the direction of Mr Chris Taylor, Head of Art.

From Scotch, a journey of self discovery began, with 1994 spent at Melbourne University studying Arts Humanities. During the following three years he was enrolled at the Victorian College of the Arts, and completed a Graduate Diploma of Creative Arts, majoring in fine art. His Honours' year, in 1998, was spent focusing on the Surrealist Movement.

After leaving College in 1999, Kynan took up painting full time, working in a studio in Flinders Lane, where he balanced his creative effort between his art work and writing poetry. A major focus for him during this period, was his involvement in the management of the Fringe Festival in Melbourne. He also held his first solo art show.

This year he held a combined show at a gallery in Clifton Hill, exhibiting with his friend Diarmid Fennessy. The show was titled, ' In Fear of the Shed', and was a sell out for Kynan. He has spent the recent weeks working on the Comedy Festival.

Scotch was fortunate enough to see the return of this talented individual, as an artist in residence, for two weeks, from May 15 to 22, this year. The Ken Field Memorial Fund sponsored his participation in the School.. He used the time to produce a prolific set of portrait sketches, and completed a large oil painting on canvas. He has developed an interest in drawing the human figure, and his fluid spontaneous style, reflects artists such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, or on a more contemporary level, Mike Parr.

Kynan spent many hours discussing his work with students, many of whom were inspired to see such a young, talented, committed artist in their midst.