Artist Statement
Over the years, I have drawn and painted my husband Simon more times than I can remember—abstracting and distorting with abandon. Sometimes I look at him and imagine seeing not his actual face, but the next portrait—watching hungrily as light and shadow change the angles of his face, trying to capture every moment with my brush. Here, Simon is sitting with one of my earliest portraits of him. I decided to paint him in an unvarnished way, reflecting our insular existence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the Subject
Simon Tedeschi is a concert pianist. He started playing the piano when he was five, began performing at eight and became professional at fifteen years of age. Like many performers, Simon is very private off-stage and despite his notorious humour is a very intense person, markedly different from his performer persona.

Further Insight
Loribelle Spirovski was born in 1990 to a Filipino mother and a Yugoslav father. She lives and works in Sydney. Spirovski graduated in 2012 from the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Art Education.

Spirovski has exhibited in Australia, Europe, the UK and USA. She is a highly sought-after young artist and her works can be found in public and private collections around the world.