Rosemary Valadon The dove and the cross - portrait of Rev Rod Pattenden

A dove against the cross is the symbol of the Uniting Church of Australia. The Reverend Rod Pattenden is minister of the Eastside Parish. He is also co-ordinator of the Institute for Theology and the Arts and a member of the Blake Society for Religious Art. In his ministry he is committed to encouraging contemporary religious expression and his church in the Sydney suburb of Paddington has become a centre for creativity that enhances human spirituality and faith exploration through a regular programme of performing and visual arts events.

Rosemary Valadon met Pattenden in 1995 when he came to talk to her about her work. 'This led to continued discussion on art, spirit, the body as a vessel of knowledge and its connection with religious experience,’ says Valadon.

'I wanted to paint Rod both as a minister in his alb and stole and as the sensitive, strong person he is. He is totally accepting of the reality of different people and their own spiritual voyage. This painting explores the false dichotomy between the corporeal and the spiritual. It affirms our shared belief in the inherent goodness of the human body – the godliness within.’

Born in 1947, Rosemary Valadon is known for her oil paintings and pastels. In 1991 she won the Portia Geach Memorial Award and was a co-winner of the Blake Religious Art Prize. In 1987 she won the Muswellbrook Open Prize and in 1988 the Muswellbrook Drawing Prize. She is a regular finalist in the Archibald and Sulman Prizes.