a little more about Nigel

I've included here a couple of photos of the first stage of the painting of Nigel. It shows the size of the canvas and the technique with the music behind his face.

Latest portrait - Nigel Westlake

I'm using the score for this music to create a montage behind the work. Nigel has seen the work in its unfinished form and his reaction was really fascinating. Most people only see the work, but he could ‘hear’ the work. Seeing his music presented in ripped up and randomly placed spots was very powerful to him and a cacophony of sound.

I've copied part of a news report about the incident below.
"Fooling around with his brother and friends after a night out, Eli Westlake threw some cheeseballs into the air "as a celebratory act'', his parents say. But the mood swiftly turned sour when they landed on a car being driven by unlicensed, drug-affected and drunk driver Sarah May Ward.

Ward had been so ‘incensed' by the cheeseball affront she jumped out of the vehicle and got into a physical altercation with Eli's brother Joel Westlake, the court heard. She then hopped back in and drove at the group of young men, glancing off one of them, before stopping the car.

Then she spotted Eli, who had been hiding behind a skip. Her headlights went on full-beam and she drove straight at him, dragging him under her car and down a flight of steps."

After that Nigel stopped composing until recently when he wrote his ‘Requiem for Eli’. This premiered at the Myer Music Bowl and I was quite moved by the performance when I went to see it with my daughter.

I'm using the score for this music to create a montage behind the work. Nigel has seen the work in its unfinished form and his reaction was really fascinating. Most people only see the work, but he could ‘hear’ the work. Seeing his music presented in ripped up and randomly placed spots was very powerful to him and a cacophony of sound.


work in its unfinished form and his reaction was really fascinating. Most people only see the work, but he could ‘hear’ the work. Seeing his music presented in ripped up and randomly placed spots was very powerful to him and a cacophony of sound