By hello
Painted in late 2016 by Brisbane artist Fintan Magee, the Patchewollock silos convert rural grain infrastructure into portraiture on an almost mythic scale. Magee stayed in the local pub while preparing the work and chose sheep and grain farmer Nick "Noodle" Hulland as his subject, turning a local face into a regional icon. (visitvictoria.com) The style is realist but weathered, with Magee using a worn, time-marked surface treatment that suits the Mallee landscape and the subject's blue flannel shirt. Unlike mural districts built from many layers of repainting, this work derives its power from isolation: a huge, calm portrait rising from a tiny farming town, where local character, labor history, and the vastness of the Australian Silo Art Trail all meet in one stop. (visitvictoria.com)