Drawing inspiration
Linda Dicmanis grew up drawing with graphite. Since the age of 12, Linda has drawn horses, and this experience was recently recognised when one of her artworks was shortlisted for the prestigious Inglis Equine Art Prize alongside professional artists.
Linda’s piece is based on a photo taken by photojournalist for The Age Bruce Postle, and features Tommy Woodcock, a successful horse trainer, and Reckless, one of the most successful horses Tommy trained. “I have the original newspaper cutting from the 1977 Advertiser, an Adelaide newspaper,” says Linda. “The theme for this year was ‘All things thoroughbred’ and I wanted something different that showed the connection between man and horse, not just a straightforward racing picture. Tommy Woodcock is renowned for his love of horses and that resonates with my feeling for horses and all animals.”
While Linda didn’t win the award this year, she says simply being nominated as one of 29 entries to be shortlisted for the award was a great achievement. “It’s nice to be considered good enough to be in an exhibition with professionals who do this for a living and are in the Archibald Prize – some have won every competition there is,” says Linda. “It’s a validation of my skills.”
The background behind the original photograph is also quite a story. “Bruce spent three weeks trying to get this photo,” says Linda. “It was taken the night before the Melbourne Cup, and Bruce took only three photos to get the shot. This is one of Bruce’s favourite photos over his long career and was on the front page of every Australian paper on the morning of the Melbourne Cup.”
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