Bill Leak: down but not out!
October 28th 2008 13:57
Australian cartoonist Bill Leak is expected to take about a month to recover from two brain operations after a nasty fall from a friends balcony last week.
Leak was feeding parrots and cockatoos at the central coast home of John Singleton when he fell and suffered serious head injuries. Neurosurgeon Nazih Assaad performed surgery on Leak twice at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital to remove blood clots and swelling. For the first few days he was on a ventillator and severely bruised.
Leak was put into an induced coma for four days and when he regained consciousness he immediately asked if someone had fed his dog, Gus, and if he would still be able to use his right hand to draw. The answer to both questions was YES!
Leak's unstoppable spirit comes across in his body of work. Longevity could well be his middle name. Leak is a survivor on the Australian art scene and a regular contributor to the realm of political caricatures.
Leak is the winner of eight Walkley Awards, 19 Stanley Awards from the Australian Cartoonists Association, including eight as Artist of the Year.
Illustration titled 'The Big Picture' features approximately 50 caricatures of prominent Australians. The illustration depicts the declaration of the Australian republic by Dame Edna Everidge and was modelled on Tom Roberts painting of the Opening of the Parliament.
Leak is a regular cartoonist for The Australian newspaper.
Bill Leak published his first novel in 2005 called "Heart Cancer".
Bill Leak has also gained much notoriety as a "persistant" painter. He has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize twelve times but never won. He has however won the Archibald's Packing Room Prize twice - for Tex Perkins (1997) and Sir Les Patterson (2000) - as well as the People's Choice award for a portrait of federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull (1994).
Leak's paintings are sometimes criticised for have caricature qualities. It could be a case of not being able to take the cartoonist out of the boy, or it could be the case of a man's reputation preceeding him. Many of Leak's portraits are quite dark and serious and look nothing like caricatures. Leak's successful day job may be his curse when it comes to the Archibalds.
Entering a competition time and time again but only coming runner up is referred to as "doing a Bill Leak" in some circles.
"Nothing If Not Critical" was the title of Leak's portrait of Robert Hughes. It is inspired by the late work of Goya and conveys the art critics furious pain, personal despair, and determination after tragedy in his life.
Robert Hughes began filming his television series on Australia Beyond the Fatal Shore in 1999. Hughes had filmed only two scenes when he suffered a near-fatal car accident on the coast of WA. The series was cobbled together during his agonising convalescence, and Hughes had little control over the final cut, but its negative reception led to his remark that for all he cared, they could ‘tow Australia out to sea and sink it’. The accident led to a protracted legal process; three years later, there was still talk of extraditing Hughes from the USA to face charges. During the same time his second marriage broke down, and his only son died. This portrait embodies the pain of this time.
One of his early commissions was to paint Australian icon, Sir Donald Bradman the legendary cricketer. Leak considered this a daunting prospect but did so well, Bradman let him do a second painting, for the National Portrait Gallery.
Bradman: "Look at that face. You've made me look too old."
Leak: "That's what you will look like when you are old."
Paul Le Petit is a film critic and has written for the Sunday Telegraph for 21 years. The portrait was painted at a time when Paul was struck down suddenly with a severe case of clinical depression.
Le Petit: "I eventually asked Bill to move the canvas to another room: it reminded me too clearly of that bleak time, when darkness filled my life. I felt as though I was being haunted by a sadder self. That time, for now, is past. Looking at the portrait today I wonder at how quickly one's world can turn from dark to light. And how brilliantly Bill has captured the soul of a man persecuted by demons."
Graham Richardson was disgusted with his portrait but says society needs people like Bill Leak - the leftie who pushes the boundaries, who is courageous and on the edge but a little bit troppo
Richardson: "You will always see yourself as somewhat more handsome, more debonair and more dashing than perhaps the painter ... I thought no-one could be that ugly but maybe I was wrong."
Nicholas Whitlam is the son of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He is a prominent Australian businessman involved in banking and finance, including an investment banking partnership with Malcolm Turnbull (Whitlam Turnbull & Co).
Leak was feeding parrots and cockatoos at the central coast home of John Singleton when he fell and suffered serious head injuries. Neurosurgeon Nazih Assaad performed surgery on Leak twice at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital to remove blood clots and swelling. For the first few days he was on a ventillator and severely bruised.
Leak was put into an induced coma for four days and when he regained consciousness he immediately asked if someone had fed his dog, Gus, and if he would still be able to use his right hand to draw. The answer to both questions was YES!
Leak's unstoppable spirit comes across in his body of work. Longevity could well be his middle name. Leak is a survivor on the Australian art scene and a regular contributor to the realm of political caricatures.
Leak is the winner of eight Walkley Awards, 19 Stanley Awards from the Australian Cartoonists Association, including eight as Artist of the Year.
Illustration titled 'The Big Picture' features approximately 50 caricatures of prominent Australians. The illustration depicts the declaration of the Australian republic by Dame Edna Everidge and was modelled on Tom Roberts painting of the Opening of the Parliament.
Leak is a regular cartoonist for The Australian newspaper.
Bill Leak published his first novel in 2005 called "Heart Cancer".
Bill Leak has also gained much notoriety as a "persistant" painter. He has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize twelve times but never won. He has however won the Archibald's Packing Room Prize twice - for Tex Perkins (1997) and Sir Les Patterson (2000) - as well as the People's Choice award for a portrait of federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull (1994).
Leak's paintings are sometimes criticised for have caricature qualities. It could be a case of not being able to take the cartoonist out of the boy, or it could be the case of a man's reputation preceeding him. Many of Leak's portraits are quite dark and serious and look nothing like caricatures. Leak's successful day job may be his curse when it comes to the Archibalds.
Entering a competition time and time again but only coming runner up is referred to as "doing a Bill Leak" in some circles.
"Nothing If Not Critical" was the title of Leak's portrait of Robert Hughes. It is inspired by the late work of Goya and conveys the art critics furious pain, personal despair, and determination after tragedy in his life.
Robert Hughes began filming his television series on Australia Beyond the Fatal Shore in 1999. Hughes had filmed only two scenes when he suffered a near-fatal car accident on the coast of WA. The series was cobbled together during his agonising convalescence, and Hughes had little control over the final cut, but its negative reception led to his remark that for all he cared, they could ‘tow Australia out to sea and sink it’. The accident led to a protracted legal process; three years later, there was still talk of extraditing Hughes from the USA to face charges. During the same time his second marriage broke down, and his only son died. This portrait embodies the pain of this time.
One of his early commissions was to paint Australian icon, Sir Donald Bradman the legendary cricketer. Leak considered this a daunting prospect but did so well, Bradman let him do a second painting, for the National Portrait Gallery.
Bradman: "Look at that face. You've made me look too old."
Leak: "That's what you will look like when you are old."
Paul Le Petit is a film critic and has written for the Sunday Telegraph for 21 years. The portrait was painted at a time when Paul was struck down suddenly with a severe case of clinical depression.
Le Petit: "I eventually asked Bill to move the canvas to another room: it reminded me too clearly of that bleak time, when darkness filled my life. I felt as though I was being haunted by a sadder self. That time, for now, is past. Looking at the portrait today I wonder at how quickly one's world can turn from dark to light. And how brilliantly Bill has captured the soul of a man persecuted by demons."
Graham Richardson was disgusted with his portrait but says society needs people like Bill Leak - the leftie who pushes the boundaries, who is courageous and on the edge but a little bit troppo
Richardson: "You will always see yourself as somewhat more handsome, more debonair and more dashing than perhaps the painter ... I thought no-one could be that ugly but maybe I was wrong."
Nicholas Whitlam is the son of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He is a prominent Australian businessman involved in banking and finance, including an investment banking partnership with Malcolm Turnbull (Whitlam Turnbull & Co).
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Comment by Nevar
ad hominem
the inner sanctum
fire in your eyes - ink in your pen
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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well hes not actually dead, its more like a retrospective of his artistic career
thanks for stopping by
Comment by Wilson Pon
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I knew that Bill Leak has entered the Archibald Prize 13 times, but was hung at least 11 times!
Hmm..., I heard that he wasinjured his head during an accidentally fall in 18th October, I hope he will be recover very soon...
Comment by alt_ed
Alted Opinion
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I really like the Rudd cartoon though, priceless
Comment by Louie
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thanks.
Comment by Nevar
ad hominem
the inner sanctum
fire in your eyes - ink in your pen
Writers Challenge ~ 2008
Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
Potter in a Harry
Comment by RubySoho
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Hi, welcome to Bill's funeral. he was alive, now he is dead. Thanks for coming.
Jesus. (That was for you David).
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i hope he gets better soon too!
hi alt_ed,
haha not a fan of John Singleton?
i know he lives on the Central Coast but im not sure where . . . obviously somewhere with a good selection of native birds!
hi Louie,
well im glad someone could appreciate it!
i dont think Bill Leak has an official website or online gallery where you can see his paintings all in one place . . . it took a while to track a few examples down!
thanks for the lovely comment!
hi David,
i looked over quite a few of his cartoons to select a couple for this artile (The Australian online has a good collection) and i think when you see them all in one go you realise just how witty he is!
he said the right hand was for drawing . . . but what else he uses his right hand for i do not know!
hi Ruby,
whenever i see the word "eulogy" i think of Zoolander trying to pronounce it and saying "you-goggelly"
Comment by alt_ed
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i think the real question is: could i stop you?
Comment by Chris Champion
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i quite like that i have produced something "absorbing"!
thanks so much for the enthusiasm!
great to see Bill has lots of fans!
i hope he has a swift road to recovery too!
Comment by Cheryl J
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David, I think he may have more uses for his right hand than you do
I don't know what Graham Richardson was complaining about. It almost looks like a photo hahaha. Oh and I'm with Alt_ed, John Singleton would make me want to jump too.
Nice piece Morgan.
Comment by Janet Collins
The Social Critic
Janet Collins Blog
What a nice piece - lots of information about someone I obviously knew very little about, except for the cartooning.
Janet
Comment by Morgan Bell
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geez that John Singletons got a bad reputation!
i tend to just think of him as one of those millionaires who hangs out at the horse races!
but i have to agree with you on Graham Richardson! haha
hi Janet,
it is interesting to see what an avid and skilled painter he is, isnt it!
thanks for the compliment!