Paul Ryan will be talking this Sunday 10 August at 2pm at Mosman Art Gallery about his highly commended work in the, Mosman Art Prize?Blue boy and dog. Ryan received the Commendation Prize for $5,000 from Mosman Art Prize sponsor Tim Cecil Jr of Henry Bucks. "Mosman Art Prize winner, Michael Muir, Commendation Prize winner Paul Ryan and young emerging artist Eric Davidson Gluyas will come together to talk about their common experiences and aspirations associated with art prizes. They will also share insights into the nature of their practise and the stories behind their artworks." - Mosman Art Gallery Mosman Art Prize Winning Artists in Conversation Sunday 10 August at 2pm Mosman Art Gallery Cnr Art Gallery Way and Myahgah Rd Mosman 2088 Australia Bookings for the event can be made by clicking here [caption id="attachment_2970" align="aligncenter" width="637"] Paul Ryan, Blue boy and dog, 2014, Oil on linen, 102 x 102cm, Highly commended, Mosman Art Prize 2014[/caption] "The boy in Blue boy and dog is an appropriation of the famous Thomas Gainsborough painting The blue boy a portrait of Johnathan Buttall the son of his friend. It is likely that the painting is an example of homoerotic paintings of boys that were among the most desirable collector objects of the time. The theme of the painting is the transition from youth to manhood. My blue boy is removed from the dark brooding landscape and placed in a white void ? a timeless space. I am also interested in the transition of boy to man. My own son is 14 years of age. In many ways we [men] are eternally negotiating this transition. Most of us never fully complete the journey, myself included for starters ? we don?t want to go the distance. We can?t, won?t let go of youth. This painting is as much about my son?s transition to manhood, as my attempts to come to terms with being middle aged ? not quite old, but no longer young.There is a power, a wonderful energy that grows in us in early manhood, it wanes but never dies. It is what drives us. My blue boy has a companion dog, beast. Is it friend or foe? Will the dog guide him through the labyrinth, or tear him to shreds. I suspect it is a bit of both." - Paul Ryan, 2014