Standing with my subject painter Nerissa Lea on opening night.
Nerissa Lea – The Night Painter acrylic on canvas. 192 x 122cm Nerissa grew up between Sydney and Adelaide where she completed a printmaking and cinematography Degree at the South Australian School of Art. She now lives and works in northern Tasmania. I have known her for many years and have always been fascinated by her left of centre off-beat way of looking at the world and by the fact that she paints at night till dawn when there is no natural light. Her paintings evoke a moody surreal originality, dark and enigmatic. Using a secret language, she draws you into strange, beautifully detailed, often absurd vignettes where she blends folklore, landscape, and still life. There is a nocturnal essence to her paintings.
Nerrisa explains why she works at night:
‘I have worked at night since I left home many years ago
There is a safety, a solitude, peace
I track the stars on breaks from work
These days, the moon visits through a skylight
There is no phone, no knocks on the door, no one watching
My internal clock has been set for a very long time
11pm start dawn finish
11am wakeup
Daylight savings time messes with this clock just like the cow.’