Portrait Artist of the Year - Australia 2025
Celebrating the art of portraiture with the ABC’s brand-new series Portrait Artist of the Year. Across eight episodes, amateur, emerging and professional artists go head-to-head, competing for the ultimate prize: a life-changing commission to hang in the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.
In each episode, nine artists have just four hours to create a portrait of a well-known celebrity. Their work is then judged by three Australian art experts: Director of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia, Bree Pickering; award winning, multi-disciplinary artist, Abdul Abdullah; and Associate Professor of Art History at the Australian National University (ANU), Robert Wellington.
2025 and Portrait Artist of the Year is being filmed in the White Bay power station in Sydney, Australia!
After deciding to enter, I had several phone chats with enthusiastic people looking to cast contenders. An early and important question was ‘Do you have a self portrait painted within the last few years?’ Without one I would not qualify to enter.
And I had one, painted during a very long Melbourne Covid lockdown!
With lockdowns limiting options, for something to do, I’d painted my portrait as seen in a mirror, with cool light behind me. My upstairs studio window looks onto a big green tree; the light was wonderful and it was that clear light I wanted to show behind me.
I painted more than what my eyes saw. I painted things I remembered, things I’d loved surrounding me. You’ll see various ’hats’ I’ve worn over many years; a Christmas paper crown, a tiara from younger days, bunny ears from Easters…. There is a map showing the route my dad drove the family car every holiday for years, back to my mum’s family farm. There are musical notes, everyone loves those, and rainbow colours because that’s what I do, I paint in colours.
Eps #3 – My first time painting with cameras watching every move.
Three artists, paints and brushes ready, waiting for our sitter to appear. We wondered about an object beside the chair, a book by horror fiction author Stephen King. And then in walked Celia Pacquola, smiling, laughing, energetic and radiant!
My immediate response was relief and joy. Immediately I was listing the big visual impression this shining star made; strong contrasts, dark hair, eyes, brows, brilliant red lips matching a wild pattern in her shirt. Joyful, radiating vitality.
We were allowed a few photos, a couple of questions. Why this book we wondered? Because this bright and shiny person loves horror from this author and one tale in particular, of course.
And then hearing for the first time ‘Artists, your time starts now!’
I always start with big marks, big brush to get that canvas going. I show roughly where the eyes will be, where some darker areas will go, keeping it loose. I’m not trying to control too much, just get an impression to then refine and build into the face I see. I do some quick measuring to see where to place more specific marks, and keep working all over the face. I step back to get a better view when I remember.
It seemed sudden when we heard a warning of how many minutes we had left. That had me scrambling as I hadn’t yet introduced anything from Celia’s horror reference! So quickly, behind her left shoulder, I introduced a tiny child-like image with a helicopter hat rising out of the darkness. Celia will know what it means!
Brushes down, phew!
Eps #7 – The semi final was fun from the start!
Our stage had deep purple drapery, aqua lights and a small strange object on a plinth, supplied by our sitter.
With energy and a big smile, Dr Karl strode towards us.
I’d heard of him, but as his accomplishments were listed I gasped. He was everything, with degrees to prove it. And a tale of the meteorite that fell to earth outside his boyhood bedroom window. He wore a colourful shirt made by his wife, covered with mini Frida Kahlos.
And then, the dramatic start; step it up, the judges had advised. So I placed him lower on the canvas than usual to emphasize all that was above him. Space, the universe.
Deep purple on a fast brush over the canvas, then wiping back into wet paint for the shape of his head. After that, finding where the eyes would be and work all else out from there. I used the brush all over his face until I was reasonably pleased then strengthened the background, but it needed more. Long ago I’d painted stars by simply splashing paint. So, canvas on the floor and flick the brush. A single swipe of white at the top of the canvas represented the meteorite.
I didn’t have time to be too literal with the shirt, but the essence was what mattered. I’ve always wanted to paint the feeling more than having everything visually equal. So, one little Frida at the collar of his shirt and only colours elsewhere. I brightened up the grey hair at the top of his head as though connecting with all the brilliance above. Steaming into the universe is how it seemed to me.
Thank you Dr Karl!
Episode #8 the Final – Preview video
Today, just Jenna Pickering, Dean Rankine, and myself painting together. We felt a bond, doing this amazing thing together.
As soon as we walked into the vast, almost empty film space we saw draped veils of blue and aqua behind the sitter’s chair. Beside it was an old biscuit tin crammed with aged photos and letters written by hand.
And then Denise Scott walked in. She was petite with a big presence, and the brightest blue eyes.
Friendly and witty, a comedian to the core.
Episode #8 the Final
Denise told us stories of her mother nursing injured American sailors during WW2, and their letters to her. She also mentioned her cancer treatment, when her expression inspired Dean’s painting that day. But her face, as she told us of the funniest tales, was the one I wanted to capture; witty and sparkling, the persona of her long career.
The background was a challenge. In tone it was similar to Denise’s face. Its colour was that of seas where the sailors were injured but to create contrast I scrawled barely legible words in pencil and ink from her mother’s letters. Not obvious enough to distract, but interesting on close inspection, and a fine line on paint.
When we were finished at last, it was a great delight when Denise chose my painting as the one to keep!
The prize for winning the competition is a commission to paint a portrait of a prominent Australian which involved meeting with and interviewing celebrity chef, Kylie Kwong in Sydney for photography and then creating her portrait in my studio over the next six weeks.
These images come from the reveal of Kylie’s portrait at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
So excited, happy and proud to have my portrait of Kylie hanging in the National Portrait Gallery
