THE ART OF
TRAVELLING By Keith Platt
S
ometimes, a glimpse of a bunch of plastic-topped pins as he climbs the stairs can spark memories and inspiration for Brian Kewley.
The stairs lead to his studio and the pins dot a map of the world hanging on the wall. Kewley is an artist who’s been documenting his travels on canvas for decades. Living a seemingly ideal existence on five hectares at Flinders with his wife Gretchen, Kewley is prolific. A back room is filled with his works, framed and unframed. The cool space is also a great resting – ageing - place for bottles of wine made from grapes grown on their property. A lawyer for many years, Kewley, 84, has always managed to mix his art with his profession. The art provided an outlet from the intricacies of the laws that required such close attention to detail.
E ssence
64 | PENINSULA
April 2017
Both disciplines are renowned for involving colourful characters. While specialising in intellectual property and restrictive trade practices, Kewley was nevertheless able to fill hundreds of sketchpads while travelling for business. Once back home those sketches – some quite colourful and intricate works of their own - became the raw material from which he could re-create sweeping vistas that, when now viewed in total, circumnavigate the world. His works are often painted from an aerial, or elevated perspective, something he attributes to his belief in astral projection, or the ability to “leave” one’s body while sleeping and travel on the astral plane. But more about that later. Kewley, a lawyer, retired as a partner from fulltime work at 56. The Flinders property had been bought in 1975 and was among the first to be planted with grapevines on the Mornington Peninsula.