Noel Murphy talks Australianism with Ocean Grove artist William Linford.
Photos by Greg Wane
CRICKETERS in their whites, bronzed life savers, bright circus performers, well-dressed farmers, golden brass bands – the Aussies who inhabit the canvasses of William Linford are a mixed breed.
They’re a colourful lot, for sure. Wild crimsons, yellows and oranges, cyans, magentas and maroons. A little surreal, perhaps, but they’re unmistakably Australian. Tanned, sunburnt, blond, leather-skinned.
Linford’s portfolio is populated by golfers and bowlers, slipsmen and batsmen, oarsmen, cyclists, footballers, theatre-goers, clowns and musicians. They’re dressed in everything from harlequin diamonds to stripes, rowing caps to jockey silks, grandpa shirts and braces, evening dresses, suits and ties through to red ringmaster jackets and top hats. Many of them are lanky, a bit like him.
Character emotions run from quizzical and curious to contemplative and resigned. The great Australian deadpan speaks volumes for the surroundings where Linford’s subjects find themselves – lifeboats, teacups, boxes, beaches, back yards, sporting reserves, broad open vistas, chessboards.
The temptation to categorise artists, like musicians, would lean observers of Linford’s work toward Drysdale, Hart and Dali but it’s unfair, incorrect, to try to harness broad expressionism into any singular style.
“I suppose art’s in the eyes of the beholder, as the cliche goes, but the reason people say it is because it’s true,” says Linford.
“People like stuff they like. If they don’t like, say, abstracts, or Picasso or cubism, it might be because they don’t understand it. When you understand where the artist is coming from, you like it more. Still, most people are pleased if they see something they like.
“My work is a little different. Once they understand where I’m coming from, they see the work’s a bit quirky with a bit of a larrikin feel to it. But it’s quite deep as well. There’s a lot of things I do in a painting. They reflect people I’ve been, seen and known.”
