Little Darlin': Saxon Quinn x Dianne Coulter

 Saxon Quinn – Little Darlin’ 

Saxon Quinn’s latest body of work, Little Darlin’, is bold, colourful and chaotic, incorporating a whole range of textures to make huge, bright, layered pieces on canvas. The works bring together manic faces, stylised bodies, figures and markings. He draws recognisable influences from pop culture (from Nina Simone to Biker Mice and Street Sharks) alongside slightly more cryptic nods to his personal history, including childhood sketchpads that his mother held onto for the past 35 years. In the works that make up Little Darlin’, he sketches a horse’s head and repeats stylised versions of sculpted figures and colourful faces throughout the series, a direct response to his mother, Australian artist Dianne Coulter, and her influence on him. Saxon’s mum is a talented, imaginative, and well-celebrated sculptor and painter who has been exhibiting since 1975. 

“I grew up surrounded by Mum’s work. She had and still has a large studio on the property, which was originally a shearer's shed, converted into a studio and gallery,” Saxon explains. “I was always drawn to the figurative works, and still marvel at the accuracy of the pieces.” 

“As a kid, some figures would scare the shit out of me, and my friends, with their glass blown eyes that gave a spooky watchful eye” he continues. “But for the longest time now, each visit back home, I’ll take a few minutes to sneak down to the studio, uninterrupted, and walk around her work. It’s definitely a nice place to be. The weight of the works makes it feel safe and familiar. Until the inevitable, ‘Sax, Sax, Sax, where are you buggerlugs? Oi chip, are you down here?’” 

Saxon specifically wanted his mother's work to occupy the front of Lennox Street Gallery, allowing viewers to see the calibre of her work first, both for its own sake, and to contextualise his own paintings. It’s a fitting way for viewers to cross-reference the mother and son’s respective works. And for Saxon, inviting his mother to be involved in the show is partly a thank you for guiding him towards a career as an artist. Dianne would often encourage Saxon to pick up a brush, emphasising the benefits it would have on him: a place of calm and security. 

Dianne explains that for her, maintaining her art practice has always been a way of understanding the world. “I love the zone of creating,” she says. “It spills over into all aspects of my life, somewhat chaotically. But it's like the air you breathe, it’s essential.” Being invited to exhibit with her son is something she describes as “humbling and tender” and “a balm for a mother’s heart”. 

It's a sweet collaboration, speaking to a mother-son relationship that sounds aspirational, even enviable, for many. But despite the gratitude and the creative partnership, no mother-son relationship is perfect. 

“A young boy getting raised by a single mum is always going to be difficult, from both sides of the coin,” Saxon explains. They lived in Allendale, in regional Victoria, when Saxon was a child. His parents had separated when he was 12 years old, and his father died a few years later, in 2003. Even now, Quinn says his mother sometimes says things like, “I hope I was a good mum.” Quinn tells her that she’s given him more than he could have asked for. 

“We’ve always had this interesting relationship... We’re as thick as thieves and every call ends with ‘I love you’. And yet, a day together and we’re driving each other mad,” he laughs. 

Dianne says, “His patience endured despite my chaotic approach, which does drive him batshit crazy.” 

Despite this, and in part because of it, the show is an attempt to show gratitude to the woman who raised him. 

“This is her beautiful work. This is what I lived with, and this is who raised me. And this is how it's influenced or shaped me,” Saxon explains. “The show is a thank you to her. Thanks for everything. Thanks for the guidance. Thanks for giving me the ability to do this and to guide me.” 

He continues: “If I can show up for my kids half as much as she has, I’ll be stoked.”