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The Guardian: Ken Done: ‘I’ll never be as good as a five-year-old’

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The Guardian: Ken Done: ‘I’ll never be as good as a five-year-old’

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Article by: by Neha Kale. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

NAS Alumni Ken Done has been alive to sensory details for as long as he can recall. As a boy, the artist spent a large part in Maclean, a small fishing town in New South Wales’s Clarence Valley. There, he pored over encyclopaedias, hypnotised by pictures of butterflies. He listened to The Argonauts Club, a long-running children’s program on ABC Radio. He observed shifts in the Clarence River, one of Australia’s largest waterways. These early impressions formed him.

“I was an only child who liked to paint and my mother was very encouraging,” says Done, now 81. “We were quite poor. If you lived in a country town as I did, you had to make a lot of your own fun. When the river was in flood, it was this wonderful khaki colour.” He grins. “It used to have big clumps of bright green and blue hyacinths floating down.”

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The National Art School was saddened to hear of the recent death of artist and NAS alumnus Bruce Goold (1948-2025).

Born in Newcastle in 1948, from 1961- 65 Bruce attended Sydney Grammar School, where he studied art with ceramicist and potter Gordon McCausland. This was followed by a year at the National Art School, Newcastle. Here he experimented with various mediums and made his first linocut. He then studied at the National Art School, c. 1967-68.

Bruce was a member of the artist collective Yellow House between 1970-72. The former Clune Gallery in Kings Cross was transformed by Martin Sharp and a group of fellow artists, who painted the exterior bright yellow and covered its internal walls with murals, portraits and decoration. Artists such as Brett Whiteley, Peter Wright, Bruce Goold, Greg Weight and Peter Kingston turned the building into an artwork, while visiting bands and celebrities made it a regular fixture of the Sydney scene.

Known principally as a printmaker, Goold created coloured linocuts and woodblocks including many images of Australian flora and fauna, as well as South Pacific inspired esoteric and symbolic subjects. He held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and internationally in London and Ireland. He received major commissions for poster, logo and interior design and worked as a designer for Mambo from 1992.

A retrospective exhibition, Bruce Goold, Artist, Designer, Printmaker, curated by Therese Kenyon, was held at Manly Art Gallery & Museum in 2008.
The National Art School extends its sympathies to Bruce’s family and many friends.
—
Greg Weight, `Bruce Goold`, 1998, NAS Collection

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Jul 28

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The National Art School was saddened to hear of the recent death of artist and NAS alumnus Bruce Goold (1948-2025). Born in Newcastle in 1948, from 1961- 65 Bruce attended Sydney Grammar School, where he studied art with ceramicist and potter Gordon McCausland. This was followed by a year at the National Art School, Newcastle. Here he experimented with various mediums and made his first linocut. He then studied at the National Art School, c. 1967-68. Bruce was a member of the artist collective Yellow House between 1970-72. The former Clune Gallery in Kings Cross was transformed by Martin Sharp and a group of fellow artists, who painted the exterior bright yellow and covered its internal walls with murals, portraits and decoration. Artists such as Brett Whiteley, Peter Wright, Bruce Goold, Greg Weight and Peter Kingston turned the building into an artwork, while visiting bands and celebrities made it a regular fixture of the Sydney scene. Known principally as a printmaker, Goold created coloured linocuts and woodblocks including many images of Australian flora and fauna, as well as South Pacific inspired esoteric and symbolic subjects. He held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and internationally in London and Ireland. He received major commissions for poster, logo and interior design and worked as a designer for Mambo from 1992. A retrospective exhibition, Bruce Goold, Artist, Designer, Printmaker, curated by Therese Kenyon, was held at Manly Art Gallery & Museum in 2008. The National Art School extends its sympathies to Bruce’s family and many friends. — Greg Weight, 'Bruce Goold', 1998, NAS Collection

Got a young artist at home?

Art Club Term 3 is now open for enrolment — and we’ve got an exciting painting program lined up. This term, kids will explore styles like Expressive Acrylics and Contemporary Watercolour, all while building their confidence and creativity.

Monday afternoons, led by artist and educator Grant Bellamy.

Visit the link in bio to learn more and enrol.

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Jul 17

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Got a young artist at home? Art Club Term 3 is now open for enrolment — and we’ve got an exciting painting program lined up. This term, kids will explore styles like Expressive Acrylics and Contemporary Watercolour, all while building their confidence and creativity. Monday afternoons, led by artist and educator Grant Bellamy. Visit the link in bio to learn more and enrol.

Thank you to everyone who attended the opening night and weekend celebrations for The Neighbour at the Gate.

The Neighbour at the Gate is now open until Saturday 18 October 2025
11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday
NAS Gallery
Free admission, all welcome

Plan your visit at the link in bio.

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Jul 15

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Thank you to everyone who attended the opening night and weekend celebrations for The Neighbour at the Gate. The Neighbour at the Gate is now open until Saturday 18 October 2025 11am – 5pm Monday to Saturday NAS Gallery Free admission, all welcome Plan your visit at the link in bio.
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