Understanding Tsering: Shadow and Light

Portrait of Tsering Hannaford.
*Winner of Kennedy Art Prize People's Choice Award*

One of South Australia's painting luminaries, Tsering is a well known name in art circles, being a multiple finalist in the Archibald Prize among many others. It has been my privilege to know her as a friend and watch her journey as she stepped out of the shadows and established her own practice and career. Few have the drive and focus as well as the integrity and honesty that Tsering gives to her craft.

This painting strives to reflect some of that strength, honesty and focus. All artifice and conceit has been stripped away from this portrait, focused as it is solely on the face and at a scale that feels more intimate and more real than one would normally feel comfortable observing in day to day life. Likewise the nature of the high fidelity rendering invites the viewer further into this painting to spend time with it and invest themselves in it. In doing so they may begin to relate to the intensity of Tsering's gaze focused not to the viewer, but off the canvas, engaged with its own subject and attempting to relate, understand and connect. The subtitle: Darkness and Light is reflected in the construction of the piece with the intense dark curve of Tsering's hair and the luninosity across her face splitting the canvas into a Yin-Yang composition.

This painting was awarded the People's Choice award in the 2021 Kennedy Arts Prize and was a finalist in the Darling Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

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Born and raised in Adelaide Tom came to painting after a rich and eclectic tapestry of life experiences and now makes high fidelity works focused on asking questions.

With a background in health sciences as well as architecture and design Tom's paintings are deeply rooted in the notion of critical thinking and the forging of human identity. Concepts of community versus individuality permeate the work as well as complexity versus minimalism.

The use of realism in traditional oil paints gives pause to the rapid consumptive nature of the modern digital image. They ask the viewer to rest a while, observe and let the painting take one's thoughts where it will. The works do not regale with a bombastic answer but rather sequester time for a deeper question.

He has been a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2016, 2019 and again in 2022. He was the winner of the Kennedy Art Prize People's Choice Award 2021 and 2023. He was a Bluethumb Art Prize Finalist in 2022 as well as a Finalist in the Darling Portrait Prize 2022 at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

Since 2013 Tom has been involved in the acclaimed pop-up fine art workshop school The Art Academy in Adelaide run by internationally renowned artist Robin Eley. Working first as a technical assistant and later as an instructor Tom has continued the never-ending journey of refining his craft and sharing that passion with others; for a lesson in painting is a lesson in thinking and continues to be to this day.