Pittwater Life July 2024 Issue

Talent
by the
palette
Life Stories
The Pittwater creative community
has new ‘royalty’ after a high honour
bestowed on North Narrabeen artist
Stephanie Galloway Brown.
Story by Greg McHugh
Stephanie Galloway Brown where we wanted to go with huge shields and truncheons. man Prizes were all won by
reached new heights in our art,” Galloway Brown I’d just never seen anything women.
the art world when she recalls.
like that in my life. Bumping
The big news that Galloway
was chosen as an Archibald The portrait is more than
into Kathrin and hearing Brown had been chosen as an
Prize Finalist for 2024. The just a realistic depiction her story brought it all back Archibald Prize Finalist came
Archibald Prize is awarded of Longhurst. It shows her again,” she explains.
by email.
each year for the best portrait strength, her work ethic and Galloway Brown knew how “I think out of the whole
painted by an artist resident references her upbringing in she wanted to portray Longhurst
thing, getting that email was
in Australasia. “I’ve always East Berlin, with background
and only needed one the most exciting part of it.
dreamed of having a piece of graphics of the Checkpoint sitting with her. She is shown Just getting that initial ‘okay…
work hanging in the Art Gallery
Charlie border crossing sign – as she is every day, dressed you’ve been accepted, you’re
of NSW,” Galloway Brown a stark contrast with Galloway as a professional artist. Oil going to be in this thing that
says. “The Archibald seemed Brown’s own childhood on a mixed with beeswax paste you’ve always wanted to be in
a little bit far-fetched at the New Zealand dairy farm. was used to give texture and for your whole life as an artist’.
time but now it has become A bus trip holiday in Europe translucency to the paint and
It’s pretty huge,” she says.
a reality so that’s pretty in the late 1980s left Galloway the portrait.
Galloway Brown soon found
exciting. I really feel like I’ve Brown with her own experiences
“It’s one thing to get a out that the Archibald Prize
fulfilled a life goal.”
of the protests, unrest strong likeness in a painting, exhibition is a massive event,
She explained she made and upheaval in a divided it’s another thing to try to get requiring an artist statement
a late decision to enter the Germany, when she arrived across a feeling of a person, for her portrait and interviews
Archibald Prize and only had around the time the Berlin or of their character or part of
with Archibald tour
four weeks before deadline to Wall came down.
their personality,” she says. guides. A lunch for the artists
paint her portrait of Kathrin “It was frightening, because Longhurst is aptly described
and sitters was “a little bit
Longhurst, a fellow Northern I came from this quiet little
by Galloway Brown as daunting… especially when
Beaches artist and friend. “We country town where nothing “quite a powerful feminine there are artists there that
used to carpool together and happens, to Berlin – watching figure”, in a year where the you have idolised”.
talk about our ambitions of the police pile in with batons, Archibald, Wynne and Sul-
Opening night came com-
42 JULY 2024
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