Congratulations to St Catherine’s School’s Graphic Designer, Ms Ruth Gavin who recently received two accolades in the prestigious SBS Portrait Prize for 2022. 

Ruth received the Peoples’ Choice Award for her portrait, Greg’s Enharmonic Equivalent, and the Highly Commended acknowledgement for her art. 

“The title of my portrait, Greg’s Enharmonic Equivalent, and my subject Greg (a classical musician, and friend), is deeply reflective, and continues to undergo personal exploration and subsequently a newly transformed, expression of self,” Ruth shares. 

“In the portrait, Greg’s clothing, reminiscent of a butterfly chrysalis, reveals his emerging ‘self,’ bare-chested and devoid of all else. Further evolved, he remains Greg but expressed differently. 

“In music, the term enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that sounds the same as one another but is named or ‘spelled’ differently, much like a human’s internal transformation, the person appears the same but is expressed differently,” Ruth explains. 

Taking 120 hours to complete, Ruth used live sittings, ongoing dialogue with Greg regarding direction, mood, and composition of the portrait as well as referencing photos. “I paint using a toned canvas in a mid-tone, with an underpainting using a shade of brown called burnt umber. Once completed and dried, I then apply colour over the top. The underpainting helps to add depth and richness to the painting,” says Ruth.

“I am a self-taught artist as my interest in art started at a young age. I was taught how to shade and blend colours at nine years old, and a whole new world opened to me creatively. I was encouraged to explore the face and human form, which led to a strong interest in portraiture. I have always been a keen observer and became really fascinated with the human face and expression. With my vision for composition and my keen observation of people and tone of expression, this also influences my design work at St Catherine’s School.” 

The SBS Portrait Prize celebrates the tradition of portraiture painting in a contemporary context that welcomes appreciation, open interpretation and further understanding of the Arts within our community.