Just like the ABC TV show, Anh’s Brush with Fame, MP Bob Katter had not seen his finished portrait until today’s official unveiling, so both artist and sitter were sweating over the outcome.
Artist David Darcy called his model “Dirty Harry meets Willy Wonka” and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was incredulous that Mr Katter actually sat still long enough for a portrait.
“He’s also a little eccentric and unconventional,” Mr Darcy said. “He’s like Dirty Harry meets Willy Wonka. We love to watch him because we know eventually someone’s going to end up in a chocolate river.”
Mr Katter is the first politician to give an artist free licence to paint a portrait without any instruction.
“The primary role of an artist is to capture a sitter’s likeness and convey their identity and personality,” Mr Darcy said. “In essence, a portrait is a series of decisions. Firstly, you formulate an idea, you consider the subject, envisage the scene, you make a plan. Then you meet Bob and you throw your plan out the window.
“Bob is a unique individual – tough, rugged, no-nonsense, outspoken, tenacious, perplexing, and rambunctious. He is an unpredictable lone wolf, at odds with authority and bureaucracy.”
Although Mr Katter didn’t give the final tick of approval, his wife Susie did.
“Bob afforded me full artistic license with this portrait,” Mr Darcy said. “He never once interfered, made suggestions, he allowed me to do my job.”
Prime Minister Albanese complimented Mr Katter on bringing his sartorial style to Parliament – the Akubra hats, aviator sunglasses, scarves and three-piece suit (not so much the fancy-dress outfits such as a pig and the grim reaper).
Bob Katter returned the favour in a back-handed way, saying to the PM, “We’ve had words in the past but whatever your shortcomings may be, I consider you a good friend.”
“He called me an F-er, I can’t use the word, you know, 13 times in one telephone call,” Mr Katter said.
Just before the portrait was unveiled, Mr Katter revealed a softer side to his tough exterior, saying his love for art came from his mother.
In a rare show of emotion, he said “every single act of my life has been an affirmation of my mother”.
“Fifty-six years after her death, I still can’t, as you can see, talk about it,” he said. “Mum, 33 great little Australians [grandchildren] will carry the banner forward, so this is for you, Mum, and for all the other mums that have created our great nation.”
Normally, the privilege of sitting for an official portrait is reserved for Prime Ministers, but Bob Katter is considered the “father of the house”, having served in politics for more than 50 years.
