Although she first went to art school at 15, it wasn’t until she was 38 that Megan Seres started on her path to become a practising artist – when she enrolled in Sydney’s National Art School.
Then in 2016, encouraged by a friend, she reluctantly entered the prestigious Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and was shocked when it was announced she’d won. The winning portrait of her daughter Scarlett dressed as a colonial girl thrust her into the limelight and she has been creating works which have been catching the attention of art lovers ever since. In the last few weeks alone she has been shortlisted in both the Percival Tucker Portrait prize and the Wyndham Art Prize.
In this podcast episode, she talks about the struggles she faced in becoming an artist, recalls the overwhelming experience of winning the Doug Moran portrait prize and talks about the aftermath of that win, including the decisions she had to make regarding the direction her work was taking.
The interview was recorded in her studio in beautiful Gerringong, on NSW’s south coast.
A video of Seres talking with Maria Stoljar in her studio from the Talking with Painters YouTube channel can be seen below.
Current and upcoming events
- ‘Out Front’, group show, contemporary artists, diverse practices, by Melbourne gallery initiative Here We See – Gallery There, pop-up group exhibition, 424 Smith St, Collingwood, VIC, 8 March to 8 April 2018
- Percival Portrait Painting Prize, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, QLD, 27 April – 15 July 2018
- Wyndham Art prize, Wyndham art gallery, Werribee, VIC, 29 March 2018
- Group shows at A K Bellinger Gallery, Inverell, date TBA
- Four commissioned portraits of the founding women of Adderton: house and heart of mercy, opening to the public November 2018
Show notes:
- Megan Seres
- Julian Ashton Art School
- National Art School
- John Bloomfield
- Ella Dreyfus
- Euan Macleod
- Euan Macleod on Talking with Painters
- Bill Henson
- Louise Hearman
- Louise Hearman on Talking with Painters
- Marion Borgelt
- Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
- Why entering the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is a life changer and one worth considering by Megan Seres
- Liquin by Winsor and Newton
- Megan Seres talking with Maria Stoljar in her studio on the Talking with Painters YouTube channel
‘Scarlett as colonial girl’, 2016, winner of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize 2016
‘The rest is silence (Brendan Cowell as Hamlet)’, 2009, oil on linen, 91.5 x 91.5cm
‘Veil “04’ 2018, oil an dmidxid media on board, wooden frame, 39 x 31.5cm
‘The Submissive Self is a Shadowed Self #02’ 2018, oil and mixed media on board, wooden frame, 40x 40cm
‘The danger of a single story’, 2017, Mosman Art Prize finalist
Thanks to megan and maria for this indepth discussion. Megans story: weaving in and out, between life and art, the tension between the two and finally a balance and current success. The giving of herself passionately to love, raising a child alone, wavering self belief, interrupted her art but thankfully came back to fuel her intriguing paintings. She is light for us who weave a similar circuitous path through life and art.
Lovely insight into the interview Sue. Thankyou. Maria
Wonderful interview
Thanks Kiata 🙂