During the COVID lockdown, Australian performer Tim Draxl says that his creativity “completely shut down”. But clearly not for long. Instead of taking to the stage or screen, he picked up a paintbrush and began painting.

As a result, Draxl starts 2021 with a bang. This month, not only is he performing in Liam Neeson’s latest Hollywood action blockbuster, which is currently shooting in Melbourne, but his first major solo art exhibition, entitled IN BETWEEN: The Act of Painting, opens at Rex-Livingston Art + Objects in Katoomba.

Tim Draxl in his studio. Photograph © Sean Sinclair/Forespoke

The transition from acting to painting felt quite natural, says Draxl. In an artist statement written to accompany his new exhibition, he says: “Painting is a performance. It’s like getting into character. As an actor, you’re not just acting, you are being. You call upon real emotions to create a character. For a painter, the process is much the same. My paint clothes are my costume, my studio is the performance space, and in the act of painting, I am a painter creating emotion through the very real use of colour.”

Initially, Draxl hadn’t planned to exhibit his paintings...