Windsor and Newton Deep Ultramarine oil colour has an obsessive, ecstasy-like effect upon my nervous system quite unlike any other colour.'
Brett Whiteley 1975
'The balcony 2' is one of his most evocative harbour paintings, encapsulating key elements of Whiteley's art – fluent draughtsmanship, an erotically charged curvilinear line and an ability to invest minimal brushstrokes with multiple associations.
Whiteley's return to Australia in 1969 heralded a new preoccupation with colour and beauty. Inspired principally by Matisse, but also by his house at Lavender Bay on Sydney Harbour's north shore, he created a series of large scale paintings of expansive interiors and views evoking the marine beauty of the harbour.
His last studio and home at 2 Raper Street, Surry Hills in Sydney is now a museum managed by the Art Gallery of NSW. Further information can be found at http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/brett-whiteley-studio/