Charles Blackman (2)

Charles Blackman’s back to front and upside-down world made him a shooting star of Australian art.

Learning to read the news upside down and back to front seems like a fitting first job for a 13-year-old who would, as an artist, be renowned for his absurdist and dreamlike creations.

Blackman was an elfin, quixotic character, as hard to pin down as a shadow. His sudden pronouncements on life and art would be as entertaining as they were strangely profound.

Alcoholism wrought havoc on Blackman’s health, and he developed Korsakoff syndrome. But he could always come up with a line that surprised everyone, according to Sydney artist Marina Finlay, who modeled for Blackman.

“He said, ‘don’t draw what you see, draw what you feel,’” Finlay said.

“He was like a combination of the Mad Hatter and the rabbit. These amazing pearls of wisdom would drop out of his mouth.”