Three former Avondale students are the subject of a painting in an exhibition a senior lecturer in visual arts has created for his PhD. Anne Little, her sister, Tegan, and Stephanie Borowski (nee Bennett) stare out of Andy Collis’ oil on canvas. The portrait forms part of Andy’s doctoral thesis, The human touch? What is the value of the artist–sitter relationship to contemporary portrait painting?, in which he argues that to achieve authenticity artists must spend time with their subjects. “The time I spent painting Anne, Tegan and Steph allowed me to share an experience with them the usual lecturer–student relationship might not afford,” says Andy, who will launch The Human Touch? in the Joanne Felk Gallery next Thursday (August 22). Credit: Brenton Stacey.