Barbara McLean Sculptor Portraits
  • Public Portrait Commissions National & International

   Hello and welcome to my website.                                                Contact: barbarajmclean@gmail.com

 The following sculptures were commissioned for The Australian Tennis Hall of Fame

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One and a half life size.  Clay portrait of Owen Davidson before being cast into bronze.  (2011)  

With the commissioned portraits, 95% have been interpreted and achieved from access to a limited selection of photographs.

This has presented challengers regarding the making of a 3D image.
Most records show subjects facing the camera. Seldom are their side angles available and never the back of one's head. 
Researching the photographic recordings for the Tennis (hall of Fame) of the early Champions often revealed very little. Even today, most  files depict on-court action shots, displaying varying degrees of facial distortion. The best shots  are generally  obtained from the subject's  family or from newspapers, after victorious conclusion and holding trophies, smiling happily at camera.

If the subject is still living I ask for current photos of profiles and then 'age the image back' when making the sculpture. This is done because the Tennis Portraits are required to depict the player during the peak of their careers. 

It is also great fun when the unveiling is done by the subject who is delighted to see their image in younger years.



     (below)     Portraits of Australian Tennis Champions, in the car to be delivered to Melbourne Park

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                              Todd Woodbridge                                                           Mark Woodford                   2010

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  (above)  Clay image's of Woodies, before being cast into bronze. 
  (below)  Unveiling ceremony on Centre Court Melbourne Park.  2010
                             


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        Thelma Coyne Long

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          Evonne Goolagong Cawley

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  (above) Tony Roche and John Newcombe 

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 (above) Pat Cash, Work in progress clay image

 
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    (above) Pat Rafter, (bronze)

                         The Australian Tennis Hall of Fame,  houses the most extensive folio of Bronze Portraits in Australia 
                            the total is 32.   (2011)

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                                                  Ron Barassi Australian Football Legend

                  This sculpture is cast in Gypsom. It is the Artist's proof of the bronze Commission
                                    
                                    And is available for purchase. Height 560 cm Width 500 cm

Commissioned portraits – 1992 – 2011

Sir Robert Menzies
The Hon Mr Justice Harry Chan MP. Darwin
Lt-General Paul Gordon Legge (Gallipoli)
Albert Nobel (Founder of the Nobel Prize) America
Ratu (Chief) Poppi   (Fiji)
Ratu Eparama  (Fiji)
Ratu Tevita Navolaca   (Fiji)
Joe Nasali (Fiji)
Rod Laver (City of Rockhampton)
Ron Barrassi (Australian Football League)
Tony Lockett
(Australian Football League)
Alan Jones. F1 World Champion Racing Driver
Sir Jack Brabham. F1 World Champion Racing Driver

Private commissions Australia, America and France

The Australian Tennis Hall of Fame

Rod Laver
Margaret Court 
Sir Norman Brookes
Gerald Patterson
Jack Crawford            
Lew Hoad
Adrian Quist
John Bromwich
Ken Fletcher
The Australian Tennis Hall of Fame Continued.

Harry Hopman                                                            
Roy Emerson
Thelma Coyne Long
Nancye Wynne Bolton
Daphne Akhurst
Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Ken McGregor            
Ashley Cooper
Frank Sedgeman
Neal Fraser                                         
Lesley Turner Bowrey            
Ken Rosewell              
John Newcombe
Tony Roche 
Mervyn Rose
Mal Anderson
Fred Stolle
Brian Tobin
Pat Cash
Pat Rafter
Mark Edmondson 
Todd Woodbridge 
Mark Woodford
Judy Dalton
Owen Davidson                                
Additional Commissions
The ‘Women’s Intercollegiate Rowing Trophy/ Wall Plaque’. Melbourne University.
The Molly Award. A custom designed sculpted trophy for outstanding achievements within the Music Industry, presented by Molly Meldrum and Associates ( Edition of 20 )
Prototype for the mass production of the ‘Kenny Doll’ a Collectors item in association with the Australian movie ‘Kenny’ commissioned by Madman Productions
Master Sculptor making the major puppets for the Myer Melbourne, and David Jones ‘Christmas windows’ over a number of years
The Fijian Ratu’s portraits were commissioned by Turtle Island Fiji.
A life-size statue of the female Buddhist Deity ‘Green Tara’ Housed at the Atisha Centre and Monastery for Buddhist Studies. Eagle Hawke,  Bendigo, Victoria.


Collections
The National Gallery of Victoria
Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
The University of Melbourne
Australian Embassy, Jakarta
Parliament House, Darwin
Liberal Party Headquarters, Canberra
Burswood Casino, Perth
The Royal Melbourne Hospital
City of Rockhampton, Queensland
The Lew Hoad Tennis Centre, Spain
Department for the Environment, Canberra
National Tennis Centre, Melbourne Park
Australian Tennis Museum, NSW
AFL  Docklands, Etihard Stadium, Melbourne
Australian National Film and Sound Achieves Powerhouse Museum Sydney, Exhibition Flair,
a video on fashion based on McLean's floor talk given at Federation Square Melbourne.
Albert Park Lake Sporting and Recreation Park Melbourne, Site of Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Yaqueta Island, Nacula Island, Matacawalevu Island and Turtle Island Fiji


           The Fijian Ratu's ( Chiefs) commissioned by Richard Evanson owner of Turtle Island  Fiji.


Ratu Popi (below)

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The Fijian portraits are to remember and honour the deceased. Their brief was that they be cyclone proof. And the scale is approximately twice life size.

Again for these portraits obtaining reference photos were a problem. However, to my great relief the finished sculptures depicted the essence and image convincingly. A few years back I attended the first unveiling in Fiji of the portrait of the Ratu of the Yaqueta Island and I was overcome by the wonderfully excited reaction of the Islanders. Their recognition was spontaneous and vocally loud, they were totally amazed to see their beloved deceased Ratu in sculpture form and, as they stroked and hugged the installed sculpture they cried tears of joy. At times during the celebration ceremony the family and friends of their late Ratu embraced me, weeping and thanking me by rubbing their nose on my face, arms and hands, many of them at the same time. Their amazing reaction was an incredibly emotional and rewarding experience.
 

Ratu Eparama

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The request  for Ratu Eparama came with only one very old, faded, soiled and much valued photograph. 

This image is the Artists proof and is cast in Gypsom. It is lightly stained with a watered down acrylic paint. 

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       Ratu Tevita, clay work in progress

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        Joe Nasali, clay work in progress, 2011


The personal Studio Works include the following. 
These sculptures are available for purchase. Price on Application.
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(above)  Exultation; Bronze and Cement height 70cm Width 50cm Edition of 10 next available 4/10

     

Dejuan (below)

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Bronze

Edition of 10. Next cast number 4/10
Height 30c

The last cast of this work depicts Dejuan clothed in a g-string, patinated with a gun metal             colour and  presented on a Black Marble Cube, (dimensions) slightly wider and one third  the height of the Sculpture.
$5,000.

Nijinsky

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Bronze. Can stand alone, or be on presented on                                                       a Marble slab of a selected height.

Edition of 10
Next available cast number -2/10  
Height 29cm Width 37cm     

Day trip at Whale Beach

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Unique image
Materials:  Bone, teeth, wood,steel, 
poly resins, acrylic paint.
Height 30cm  Width 26cm

The Bather

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                   Unique Image
                   Height;  37cm 35cm
                   Materials: Animal  bone, teeth, steel, wood, poly resins, 
                    shell, acrylic paint.
                    

Madonna and child

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Unique Image
Height:  Mother 63 cm.  Child 36 cm

Materials: Steel, mixed mediums, acrylic paint.

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  These  two Sculptures are from a folio of Work 
   that was inspired by  'The Mandlebrot Theory'  
   They are made with multiple materials.
  ( above)   Les Follies,  Height 19cm  Width 33cm
     Leda and the Swan, Height 37 cm  Width 23cm.
   ( far right )
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A life size statue of the Tibetan 

Green Tara.(at left)

 This life size sculpture has been made over a period of five years
 and was completed in May 2011.
Tara is now housed at the Atisha Centre for Buddhist Studies in Eagle Hawk, Bendigo,Melbourne. 
The Sculpture is dedicated to the  endless compassion of Lama Thubten Yeshe, a unique Mahayana Master who passed away in 1984.

       Studio Photography by Rob Copping.                         Below, The prototype for the Kenny Doll,   



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