Glasses and Peals, a portrait of Jeanette Young
Isabella Allis
- Sitter: Jeanette Young
- Medium: Oil stretched on linen
- Dimensions: 60 x 76 cm
- Representation: The artist represents themselves
About the artist
Isabella Allis immigrated to Australia 2001 and settled in Brisbane. She immersed herself in family life and the community, pursuing art as a career in 2013. Her passion is painting portraits in oils. She says of her work: “At the heart of my process when painting a portrait, is a live sitting where I sit casually across from my subject and have a conversation whilst I sketch. I encourage them to move freely and not lock themselves into a pose. This helps me to see their features in animation and listening to them talk helps me to understand their unique characters. Sketching what I see continuously helps to build a memory that I draw on when working on the final portrait. I use this in conjunction with reference photographs to uncover their story and express it through my art.
About the sitter
Dr Jeanette Young has been the Chief Health Officer of Queensland since 2005. Previously she worked in a range of positions in hospitals in Queensland and Sydney. She has specialist qualifications as a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and as a Fellow by Distinction of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. She is an Adjunct Professor at Griffith University, QUT and University of Queensland. For Isabella, Dr Young’s glasses symbolise clarity of vision and thought, characteristics which allow her to perform her role as Chief Health Officer of Queensland. Away from professional life, Dr Young loves the arts and dance, and on occasion, will express her love of beautiful things by wearing velvet and pearls.
