Self Portrait... with Reservations
David Paulson
- Sitter: Self Portrait
- Medium: Mixed Media
- Dimensions: 100cm x 140cm
- Representation: FireWorks Gallery
2026 Highly Commended
About the artwork
Self Portrait… with Reservations is exactly what its title suggests. David Paulson has been making self-portraits for decades, using himself as subject not out of vanity but necessity.
“The self-portrait is a revelatory process,” he writes, “whereby the artist seeks to explore, through whatever means, an existential representation, by peeling away layers of narcissistic and flattering postures. One only need look in the mirror to see what a confusing and interesting journey one has been on.”
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2023, Paulson has responded not with retreat but with rigour, maintaining a daily drawing practice that has produced an extraordinary body of work. The draftsmanship in this self-portrait is extraordinary, evidence of a lifetime devoted to the act of making.
About the artist
David Paulson is a Brisbane based master draughtsman, born in Leeds in 1944 and formally trained in Sydney and Tasmania. With a longstanding reputation as a teacher of life drawing, his practice spans oil painting, drawing and mixed media. A three-time Archibald Prize finalist, his work is held in public and private collections including the QAGOMA collection.
