CHARLES BLACKMAN

The prints of Charles Blackman – along with those of Michael Leunig and David Boyd – are often amongst the first works that kick of an Australian art collection. Blackman has been a very prolific artist over his lifetime – and so it pays to become acquainted with his work before purchasing. In my opinion a great Charles Blackman piece is a work that combines innocence, melancholy and his great sense of colour and line. Blackman would often work in series – and some of these such as the ‘Alice’ paintings and prints have become very popular. I wouldn’t suggest buying a work however just because it comes from a well known series – if you are going to live with a Charles Blackman work for a number of years you want it to hold your interest and not just be an example of his ‘brand’!