Portrait selected for Hidden Faces

    Louise Otten's portrait, titled Flowerdale Steve, is of the owner of the well-known Flowerdale Pub.

    A portrait by Trentham artist Louise Otten has been selected in the 2022 Victorian Salon des Refuses Hidden Faces Exhibition.


    Hidden Faces showcases portraits by Victorian artists, originally submitted for a number of national portrait prizes including the Doug Moran, Archibald and The Lester, which were either not hung in the ‘official’ exhibitions or shown in Melbourne.


    Otten’s portrait, titled Flowerdale Steve, is of the owner of the well-known Flowerdale Pub.


    “I met Steve in the Flowerdale Pub and his face told me many stories,” Otten said.


    “I really wanted to capture those stories on a canvas. When I approached him, he thought it was the weirdest request he had ever had.


    “We talked and I showed him some photos of my portraits. He then became interested and agreed to the portrait.


    “Some months later, I showed him the finished painting. He laughed and thought himself the ugliest man in the world, but he liked it.


    “He was a bit funny about the flower earring I gave him.”


    The portrait was originally submitted to both the Doug Moran and the Lester Prize. Otten has been a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran three times.


    Now well established in Melbourne’s arts calendar, Hidden Faces reveals a broad spectrum of entertaining, challenging and insightful paintings.


    Normally the exhibition is on display at one of the top hotels in Melbourne’s CBD; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show is mounted online as a virtual exhibition.


    Hidden Faces follows in the long tradition of the French Impressionists of the 1860s who held a breakaway exhibition from the French Academy. The inaugural Salon des Refusés, held in 1863 by command of Napoleon III, included works by acclaimed artists Edmund Manet, Camille Pissarro and Paul Cezanne.


    This 2022 show includes a diverse array of exciting, diverse, witty and experimental artworks by Victorian artists whose talent deserves to be seen and appreciated.

    The People’s Choice Award is a visitors’ favourite with prizes. Visit www.ozlink.info for details.