8 December 2016

Vale Eden Waugh

| Yolande Norris
Join the conversation
1
Waiting For Her To Call by Eden Waugh. Photo: Yolande Norris

Seven years ago I wrote a short post on my site about the work of Eden Waugh. Today and yesterday it has attracted a lot of attention, sadly due to the release of Eden’s name as the victim of a murder early last month. Between the news story and my post there’s not much else out there about him.

I never met Eden. In fact, until I saw the pictures in the news story I didn’t even know what he looked like. But the painting of his I bought all those years back – Waiting For Her To Call – is a big part of my life. It hangs in the entryway to my home, and everyone who visits for the first time is stopped in their tracks. They all want to know more, to see more. We talk about how it is reminiscent of Freud, of Lautrec, or Whiteley; countless other masters. It’s all colour and darkness. Languid, but vibrating with tension, unsettling, beguiling. So far as I can tell, this is true of all his work.

Last year, Eden sent me a message, out of the blue. He had only just seen the post I’d made about his work, and that I had purchased a painting from his Craft ACT exhibition. He said if he’d know how much I liked the work he’d have given it to me for free. He said ‘Sometimes I wonder what the f**k I’m doing this all for. Reading your description reminds me why.’

Eden Waugh

I’m devastated that I don’t recall if I replied. I can’t find a record of doing so. I hope that I did. I hope I told him that the painting has given me seven years of joy and I love it more every day. I hope I told him to keep going.

Since that note, and especially now, I think about Eden when I look at the work. Paintings are so imbued with their makers that it would be impossible not to. Every brushstroke, every edge of colour, you can feel the artist’s hand, feel the crackle of neurons firing.

It’s not my place to speculate about Eden’s life, but I feel it is important to acknowledge that he was an incredible artist who, for whatever tangle of reasons, stayed just below the surface of recognition and profile. I know there are a great many of his artworks out there, and I’m sure they bring bliss and intrigue wherever they are found. That is more than most of us will ever hope to be able say, when we’re gone.

This article was first published on Yolande Norris’s blog here. The piece she wrote about purchasing Waiting For Her To Call is here.

Do you own an Eden Waugh artwork? We’d love to share your photograph of the work and thoughts on it with our readers and with the Waugh family. Please email photographs and comments to charlotte@the-riotact.com.


Pictured above are Waiting For Her To Call, Eden Waugh’s painting, and Waugh himself in a family photograph.

Join the conversation

1
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

That’s fantastic painting!

Is any of Eden’s other work for sale anywhere?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.