WAYNE R YCR FT Citibank portrait prize selection, Art Gallery of NSW Wayne is a three-time Olympian and in 2005 was the head coach for the Australian equestrian team. I don’t think you could take a portrait of him without a horse, because he is probably half horse by now (not that I attempted to convey this in the image). He is a great bloke, shy and laconic like a lot of Aussie men who grew up on the land. The only problem was the horse’s perpetual erection, but a cold hosing down seemed to do the trick.
20
MARTYFELDMAN During the late 1970s in Los Angeles, I seemed to shoot all the top comedians, including Robin Williams, Rodney Dangerfield, David Steinberg, George Carlin, and Cheech and Chong for Penthouse and Playboy magazines to illustrate their feature interviews. They were some of the most memorable encounters of my career, and perhaps the most memorable was Marty Feldman. I went to Marty’s office in Warner Studios to take this shot, and like most comics, there is a serious side to him that’s unexpected until you start shooting and his light-switch goes on. I asked about this painting behind Marty’s desk and he just jumped up, grabbed it and opened the flap on the front to reveal Queen Victoria’s breasts. The breasts could fold back and leave a hole which perfectly framed his wonderful face.
ELVIS C STELL People never live up to their reputation. Well, almost never. When preparing for this magazine cover shoot of Elvis Costello, I’d organised the usual selection of groovy outfits and accessories, but when he walked in, I knew I wouldn’t use any of them. As fabulous as you hoped he’d be, Elvis was pretty much the coolest guy on the planet. He turned up his collar, straightened his signature horn-rims and looked down the lens daring me to improve on his own look for the man who redefined pop music in the eighties and has continued to evolve without losing an iota of cool ever since.