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and they said that 1966 Beijing Jeep #2 was hanging on a wall of their Sydney apartment.
They studied my paintings and asked many questions. On display was a quarter-size replica of my painting Red Star over China (1987) that is held in the collection of NAMOC in Beijing. The children of a Red Army soldier saw their father in my painting on television and commissioned me to paint this smaller version. The painting greatly interested Roderick, and he listened intently to my commentary. Over lunch he asked if I would paint Gillian’s portrait, and I immediately agreed. He then asked what he could read about the background of my individual works. I said there was nothing, but that I had it all stored in my head. On hearing this, he proposed that I find someone to interview me and write it all up, adding that he and Gillian would sponsor the project.
Before long I was in New Zealand to start on sketches for Gillian’s portrait. She made a striking picture in her black-and-white striped Impressionist blouse when she came to meet me at Wellington Airport. We picked up Roderick on the way, then traveled seventy kilometers north to their property on the West Coast. Surrounded by a vast expanse of greenery, their house on a hillside was simple and elegant and featured an indoor swimming pool, as well as a huge glass window looking out to Kapiti Island across the strait. I asked Gillian to sit by the window and was preparing to sketch her when two black Labrador pups jumped out of nowhere and began licking me. A chuckling Roderick appeared and gave the command to the pups that the welcome ceremony should end. I immediately decided to put Roderick and the pups into the painting. Returning to Sydney I set to work on my portrait of Gillian and Roderick that would win me much acclaim, especially as in the interim they had become Sir Roderick and Lady Deane. Of the many portraits I have painted, this one is my favorite.
I also thought about Roderick’s suggestion to find someone to write up the stories behind my history paintings, but could think of no one. In any case, my poor English would prevent me from communicating