Colin by Sally Heinrich

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ARTIST NOTES: South Australian Icons - Colin
When I was six, I was in the city with Mum one day, when she took me into an imposing building, filled with rows and rows of books. A small card with my name on it allowed me to choose an armful of these books and take them home. I was equally amazed and excited, but bewildered. Where to start? It was the first of weekly visits that continued for years. I would find an author I liked and work my way through every book on the shelf with their name on.
Colin Thiele was one of them. I felt connected to Colin because of his German background. Like my Dad, he only spoke German at home until he went to school. His books made me feel closer to, and proud of my own heritage. He also shaped my relationship with possums. To this day I’m unable to walk through the parklands at night without constantly scanning surrounding trees, haunted by a half remembered scene from Sun on the Stubble, where a cornered possum scampers up one of the characters and sits clawing their head. My friends have always laughed at me. But then … not long ago my friend Jane (not knowing this) sent me a late night text message after we’d been out together and she’d driven back to her home in the Hills. When she pulled down her shed’s roller door a possum fell on her head, scratching and clawing. I remain vigilant.
Another connection. Many years ago I used to sew small felt animals - cockatoos, kangaroos etc, maybe even a possum or two - and sell them from a shop near the Central Market. The owner was almost as excited as I was when Colin Thiele bought one of my pelicans (which had tiny fish in their bills) for his collection. Some years later, when my first publisher Walter McVitty, sold his business to a larger publisher, he maintained for a time oversight of just two of his authors, Colin and me.


Hand coloured lino print
This print was created by carving the design, in mirror image, into a lino block. It was printed by hand on Stonehenge 100% cotton paper, and coloured using watercolour paints and inks. Therefore, although there are multiples available of the same image, each print is a unique and original artwork. The numbers on each piece refer to the edition size (to the right of the slash), which is the total number of that image that will be produced. The other number identifies the individual print. AP means the print is an artist’s proof, which is a stage in the development of the image, and may differ slightly from the final edition.

DIMENSIONS (Height - 52.00 cm X Width - 45.00 cm )
MEDIUM ON BASE Other Medium on Paper
GENRE Portrait
REGISTERED NRN # 000-38976-0149-01
COPYRIGHT © Sally Heinrich
PRIZES AND AWARDS No Awards

 

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Artist: Sally Heinrich




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