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Buckwheat becomes a work of art

Mon 6 Oct 2008 In: Television View at Wayback View at NDHA

Up-and-coming portrait artist Stephen 'Marty' Welch has asked many New Zealand celebrities to sit still for him while he brushes up a painting – and in an auspicious list which includes Lucy Lawless, Mike Hosking, Suzanne Paul and Russell Brown, who better to represent our colourful K' Road drag community than Buckwheat? Artist Marty Welch, Director Marcus Clayton and Buckwheat on The Sitting "I was sat there for two hours," Buckwheat (AKA Edward Cowley) tells GayNZ.com of the experience. "It was hard for me to sit still that long!" The Family bar showgirl says there was a nice and relaxed atmosphere for the show's taping, which the artist asking her a little about her life. "He asked me about different experiences I've had, what brought me to drag, how it's changed for me over the years, and a little about people's perceptions of drag… but it was more like a conversation than an interview, really." Marty Welch gets to work on bringing Buckwheat to canvas But what did Buckie think of the painting when she came back a week later for the reveal? "It was amazing. The attention to detail was incredible, really. I didn't know what to expect, since Marty has lots of different styles that he does. But the more I looked at the finished painting, the more I was impressed. I think he got the essence of Buckwheat down extremely well. It's just strange to see yourself in that great big size!" Some of Welch's paintings will be auctioned to support Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital in November. Buckie's episode of the TVNZ6 programme The Sitting premieres this Wednesday night at 10:20pm, then repeats a few times this week on the digital channel's schedule, before heading to the TVNZondemand website where you can watch it free anytime. [UPDATED: It's now avaialble on the link below] Matt Akersten - 6th October 2008    

Credit: Matt Akersten

First published: Monday, 6th October 2008 - 2:44pm

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