Free Spirit

Free Spirit is my tribute to the great actor, dancer, mentor and beautiful soul, the late David Gulpilil. Many years ago my partner travelled to Darwin with his fellow artists to attend the Darwin festival. David met them in the street with ‘Where are you mob from?’ He joined them for breakfast and spent the day, regaling them with stories, song and dance.

We have photos from that day and I always thought I’d paint him one day. After his passing this year while watching one of his movies, I felt compelled to jump up and take a photo on my phone. The picture was good enough for me to develop a portrait from. I feel I’ve honoured David to the best of my abilities.

He will always be an inspiration.