ABOUT a year ago, iconic Australian artist John Olsen agreed to create an iconic painting that would capture the essence of his birthplace.
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It was a deeply personal work, a reflection on his beginnings.
Unfortunately, illness meant he couldn’t be there when the exhibition opened in November last year.
But on Saturday at Newcastle Art Gallery – just a short distance from his childhood home – Olsen got to share a piece of that work, a slice of the Hunter, with hundreds of other art lovers.
It was an appropriate gift on his 89th birthday.
Lake Macquarie cake decorator Charmaine Sheehan had painstakingly recreated Olsen’s painting, King Sun & The Hunter, the exhibition’s centrepiece, in metre-long sweet, sugary-form.
Olsen was touched by the turnout for the celebration and has said he plans to make a habit of visiting Newcastle “at least two or three times a year”.
The exhibition “John Olsen: The City’s Son” runs until February 19.
