Artist and musician is 'Almost Serious'

Fane Flaws

Do you fancy having your portrait painted by Fane Flaws?

The graphic artist, designer and musician will be set up in the Hastings Community Art Centre in Russell St, Hastings, with his full working studio, his comfy chair and musical gear for the duration of the Hawke's Bay Arts Festival, from September 18 to October 14.

Flaws says, "I am planning to be painting onsite most days through the arts festival and will experiment with a weekly 'portrait salon' where I will attempt to make portraits within a half-hour time frame, the idea being to combine and hang them as a growing multiple."

The month-long event is called Almost Serious - Fane Flaws, the title derived from a conversation he had with a very serious (and very talented) New Zealand artist in 2008, when Flaws was told his work was "very, very, good ... In fact," the artist had said, holding up his thumb and fore-finger, millimetres apart, "Fane you are this close to being a serious artist!"

Amused by snide aside, Fane's response was to go home and create the painting - Self Portrait as an Almost Serious Artist, the image he is using to promote this show - and decided he liked the idea: Fane Flaws - Almost Serious!

As he prepares for Almost Serious - Fane Flaws, he says, "For me, this is an extremely full-on month. I will be collecting key works from the last 45 years from all over the country and a few smaller pieces from overseas, organising guest musicians, rehearsing some 25 selections from my songbook with various combos, setting up a working studio in the exhibition space, and creating a workable setup for live music performance.

"I will also make some large 'action paintings' which will be created to live improvised music, featuring local Jazz musicians; The Revolutionary Arts Ensemble, New Zealand jazz album of the year winner Jonathan Crayford Ross, Burge-Spanner and Sydney keyboard maestro and composer Peter Dasent."

These will include making diptychs with artists Martin Popellwell, Jo Blogg and Bernard Winkels.

Flaws will be performing selected songs from the 'Fane Flaws Songbook' with both Peter Dasent and musicians from his band No Engine (Anton and Margot Wuts, Willie Devine, Andrew Gladstone and Nicole Taylor) and son Kaspar Flaws.

These will be lunchtime concerts and some night-time shows to top off the night after certain arts festival events, including September 25, where after both the festival opening and Shane Cotton's opening at Parlour Projects, Flaws and his musician mates will open Almost Serious with a live set from No Engine.

Almost Serious - Fane Flaws
Hastings Community Arts Centre
Russell St, Hastings
September 18 to October 14