The artist as leader

ANDREW Penn, CEO of Australia telecommunications giant, Telstra, loves to paint. When we met recently he says, half in jest, that some paint is still visible under his nails - he had been painting over the weekend. Mr Penn is a bit shy about his hobby - he thinks he is still not good enough to hold an exhibition - but is very passionate; his favourite mediums are oils and acrylic.

"I wouldn't say I'm a good artist but I do paint in my spare time... I prefer oil with palette knives. (However) I probably paint as much in acrylic as oil. Oil is harder to work with since it takes more time to dry and clean. In that respect, acrylic is easier to work with."

He likes to paint interpretive landscapes. "I'm more of a structure person and less colours. Colours are important but structure is more important." Surfaces are also important for Mr Penn. "I quite like painting on paper with oil. I like the juxtaposition of real heavy and rich oil on very delicate paper. That's kind of cool." He also paints with oil on more traditional surfaces like linen and canvas. But "oil and paper is quite hard to manage but I like that", Mr Penn says.