The Evolution of an Artwork
Article from the National Trust magazine Heritage in Trust - Spring 2003 - Canberra, Australia.
by Kim Nelson

In some ways I was the wrong person for this job because my artwork is changing – becoming less exacting and what you might call more painterly. Additionally, undertaking projects like this gives the general public a skewed perception of what sort of art I do. Nevertheless, I’m a sucker for a challenge and Michael Hodgkin at the ACT National Trust was an old friend. We artists are way too precious about our image anyway!

So here we go: Back in 1991, I made my first foray into limited editions by releasing an image of ‘Cooma Cottage’, the NSW National Trust property near Yass that I managed. I’d come to know Michael Hodgkin through his work with the ACT branch of the National Trust. I presented their office with a copy of the Cooma Cottage limited edition and I remember him saying at the time “you’ll have to do something like that for us one day”. I told him I’d be happy to help out if I could. I think Mike always had the idea at the back of his mind over the following years but we never really got around to it.

So to cut to the chase, Mike contacted me about four months ago to say that at my last exhibition he’d been very interested in reading about my new ‘Fine Art Edition’ range and the new technology used in their production. (They have a colour fastness of 130 years minimum). He wondered that if we could perhaps do something, finally, as a fundraiser for the ACT National Trust. At this point a subject for the work had not been chosen but I thought it would probably be something like Lanyon. So I went along to a meeting of the board and gave them a run down on the various forms printing and the pro’s & con’s of marketing something of this nature.

A week or so went by and finally I got a call from Mike telling me they’d decided to go ahead with the project and then he dropped the ‘clanger’. They’d decided the subject should be Mt. Stromlo as something of a memorial to the site. Until this stage a decision still hadn’t been made as to the subject so when I heard this, it was like “oh great!…….couldn’t it at least be something that still exists!”

Obviously it was a very pertinent choice, but from my point of view it had ceased to be a straight forward undertaking. Colin Griffith at the Trust made available the original plans but said they had very few photographs available. The ANU are the custodians of Mt Stromlo and I decided it was time I did some research there. Within minutes of visiting the Mt Stromlo archivist & researcher Vince Ford I knew I was in trouble. The photographic archive was not stored at the ANU but in the wing of the administration building at Mt Stromlo – the very building I’d been commissioned to paint and which was now a charred shell of its former self. All that remained photowise were low resolution images on the Mt Stromlo website and it was there that I sourced two black & white images taken by Norm Banham in the mid 1940’s. For colour reference I took samples of what was left of the structure, such as roof tiles etc. The resultant painting is a composite of the two black & white shots with hopefully a colour scheme that is not too out of kilter with what folks will remember.

My preliminary design was met with an equivocal email from Mike Hodgkin that in essence said that they loved the rough, but one observatory telescope is much the same as another and perhaps we should choose a different structure - one more defining of Mount Stromlo.

In the end we sorted it out and, though the idea of painting a building that I’d only seen once in my life scared me to death, I’m proud of the end result. I just ask architectural experts and those who knew the building well to consider the circumstances and take it easy on me!

About the artist

Artist Kim Nelson will be known to many in the Canberra region. He lived for many years at the NSW National Trust property Cooma Cottage near Yass - 11 years in fact. He was the property’s initial manager/curator when it opened to the public in 1988. In 1995 he filled in for Elaine Lawson as acting senior curator of Lanyon and Calthorpes’ House, Canberra, whilst Elaine Lawson prepared the newly acquired Mugga Mugga for opening to the public. The Mugga Mugga logo is in fact designed by Kim. In 1994 Dr Peter Stanbury (then head of Museums and Collections at National Trust, NSW) stated that “Kim is our model manager and news of his proficiency has spread throughout the Trust and into the public realm”

Whilst many an aspiring curator would probably choose to build on this reputation Kim Nelson left that life behind to pursue fine art. It had always been a part of his life, having drawn since his early childhood. At the age of 17 he attended a year of live drawing at the renown Julian Ashton Art School and completed his first commissioned mural in that same year. The need to earn an income led him down the road of graphic design and marketing and he spent ten years in this industry. Another ten was spent working with house museums as previously mentioned.

Since embarking on a career in art in 1996 Kim Nelson has staged eleven solo exhibitions. He has also completed commissioned work for many organisations and individuals ranging from the National Trust of Australia to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. His exhibitions have been opened by the likes of Chief Magistrate, The Hon. Mr Barry O’Keefe QCAM and Investment entrepreneur Mr Renee Rivkin.

Internationally his work graces the walls of corporations and offices such as the Australia High Commission in London and News Limited in New York. He has gifted art and design to many major and minor organisations and charities such as UNICEF Australia, Hope for the Children (Rotary International), Koomarri Canberra, The Smith Family, NSW Volunteer Bushfire Brigade, to name a few.