‘Difficult word’: The one thing Aussie icon doesn’t want to be called

At 84, Ken Done isn’t ready to slow down. He’s one of the greats but he tells Confidential there is one word he isn’t comfortable with.

Sidney Nolan, Pro Hart, Ben Quilty, Ken Done’s name sits high on the list of our greatest artists.

The iconic Aussie octogenarian isn’t comfortable with fancy titles or accolades.

“To say that you are an artist, it is a difficult word,” Done told Confidential, sitting down at his studio in The Rocks.

“I am happy with the word painter because that is what I do.

“Whether it is art, is as much for someone else to bring to it. I think I am a painter, two coats, half a day, two rooms … all over.”

Ken Done pictured at his gallery in the Rocks. Picture: Christian Gilles

Done this week launched a new collaboration, his third in fact, with lifestyle brand Kip& Co on a new range of bedding, children’s apparel, sleepwear and a beach capsule.

At 84, he isn’t slowing down and has no intention to.

“Well, I like to work is the main thing, I like what I do,” he said. “For me it is always a journey too.

Ken Done pictured at his gallery in the Rocks. Picture: Christian Gilles

Painting is very easy to start, very hard to finish, especially if the pictures are not so literal but if they are more abstract, to find a finish is sometimes tricky.”

Done is careful with putting his work to brands.

“I don’t start off a painting thinking this would make nice bed linen or this would make nice swimwear,” he said. “I start off making a painting that satisfies me.”

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Originally published as ‘Difficult word’: The one thing Aussie icon doesn’t want to be called