Portrait of Kevin Densley, by Terry Matassoni, oil on linen, 36cm by 46cm, 2025. [Collection of Kevin Densley.]
My Portrait by an Artist Friend
It didn’t turn out
how I thought it would:
I’m not the sensitive, poetic soul
I believed I’d see; instead,
the man on the canvas looks truculent,
brutish,
tired,
bleary-eyed,
someone I’m starting to recognise
as I write about him in this poem.
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises is available HERE
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Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Great stuff Kevin. Fascinating how others might see us.
You have the look of a man who has been dealing with bureaucracy.
Thanks for your comments, Dips. Appreciated.
This portrait is on a wall that I look at every day – in overall terms, I feel like I see something slightly different every time I gaze at it.
I can see the match that you point out KD.
Nice title for this post too. We studied that book in Grade 12. It was largely wasted on me at that stage. Yet it was an astute choice from an outstanding English teacher, as I have been reminded of it for years.
Thank you for your response, JTH. I’m pleased the poem resonated – that said, what particular book are you referring to? Only one with a title comparable to my poem – that I can think of off the top of my head – is James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, though I may be off the track here.