Head of a Boy
Stephen Tiernan
- Sitter: Patrick Tiernan
- Medium: Oil on Copper
- Dimensions: 27cm x 31cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
Stephen Tiernan paints what’s around him, including his family, his friends and his boxing studio. He has done a number of studies of his children, focussing on the complexities and contradictions of moving through different phases of life.
The quick brushstrokes give the work a feeling of catching a fleeting moment in time.
“The painting was completed in oil paint on a copper panel and shows the young teenager ready to face life’s challenges.”
Stephens’s son Patrick looks down, concentrating on what is in front of him, with a youthful, yet knowing look. There is some trepidation but also determination as he seems to contemplate his future.
“Patrick moved from the Gold Coast to Brisbane in 2023 and started in a new High School. The sitter is also in that realm of youth where he is transitioning into a young man. He is actively engaged in his Brisbane community and attends his local boxing gym daily.”
About the artist
Stephen Tiernan was a Queensland police officer before becoming an artist. He has a BFA from Curtin University, has had two solo exhibitions, and been selected in the the Archibald Salon des Refusés and the Percival Portrait Prize. He has been a finalist twice in the Brisbane Portrait Prize and in 2022 won the Performing Arts and Music Award. He works from his home studio in West End.
