So I went to see my old mate Sid the other day.

Did I mention I am in love with Sidney Nolan?

There are only a few artists I have ever been completely in love with.  Mostly I appreciate. I admire technique, colour, composition, patience and stamina, but few bowl me over and leave me swooning like Sid.

It’s not just that he had a unique vision, and kept going with it over his lifetime with driving ambition and self-belief that may have been hard to justify at times.  There is something that just sings and hangs in the air and catches me in blissful suspension.

It’s not just that he was an innovator and risk-taker, and pushed personal and material boundaries…

It’s not just that he explored Australia and our history with some depth and told stories that are important culturally and emotionally…

It’s not just that he looked at things with an enquiring eye…

And travelled widely, recording what he saw…

It’s that he seems to capture the vulnerability and spirit of the subjects in his paintings -
seeming to peel away the outer layers and give a glimpse of the being within… Almost like a spiritual x-ray.

I LOVE that.

Sidney Nolan is on at the National Gallery of Victoria - but only for another week.  If you’re halfway interested go - There were tears on my part.  It was a beautiful thing.

On until 18 May.