Richard, between the lines

This portrait explores Richard Roxburgh not as a fixed likeness, but as a layered presence shaped by experience, performance and inner life. I wanted to move beyond recognisability and capture something of the man behind the public persona: an Australian bloke’s bloke with a colourful personality, humour and a creative spirit that cannot be contained in a single image. The vertical lines cut through the surface, creating a sense of distance, reflection and movement, as though Richard is being viewed through fragments of memory. Colour pushes through the black, sometimes vibrant, revealing glimpses of the energy and emotion beneath the surface. Drips, marks and imperfections remain visible, giving the work a raw, unfinished quality. Inspired by Roxburgh’s range as an actor, the portrait reflects the way strength, vulnerability and character can exist together. Between the lines is where this work lives, in what is felt rather than explained.