The Maldon Portrait Prize 2022
Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media
Online Gallery
01 - Arop Akok Chom - right after he helped build my home (Salt of the Earth No. 2), Jason Tolmie
Finalist
Arop was Australia’s first South Sudanese man to obtain his bricklaying qualification. He and his uncle were the only members of his family able to flee to Australia and seek refuge. He was slightly taken aback when I asked if I could paint him.
The idea with this painting (and series) is to recontextualise Australian subjects. People who we would typically rarely see in portraiture but frequently see in our day to day lives. Celebrating Australia’s diversity. Taking individuals who might not usually view ‘fine art’ and making them the subject of it. The quotidian rendered fresh.
This self-portrait using mirror reflects an emerging artist’s progress in the study of portraiture. It is also a statement regarding the underlying nature of the human being.
02 - Self Portrait no.4 - Work in Progress, Roxy Xie
Finalist
Hannah and Sarah are life-long life models. They stood at the cradle of organised life modelling in the Melbourne area. Hannah was one of the founders of the Life Model Society of Melbourne. Hannah and Sarah are bound together by their love for the Arts, their pride in having been models for so much of their lives, and their Jewishness. This double portrait captures a moment of intimacy between the two.
03 - Old Friends, Hans van Weerd
Finalist
C’est La Vie
This is a potrait of the most dearest person in my life. Due to his condition, he no longer recognizes me. He now appears a shell of the man I once knew. However, now and again and very seldom, I see a glimmer of that familiar person. I consider him to have been a very gentle man, a man of flowers, animals, plants and nature generally. A new Age Man. As an artist and his life partner, I have attempted to depict those qualities which are now buried deep within him.
04
- Ian Ramsay, Norma Bailey-Ramsay
Finalist
A kind man, with an interesting face, and a cheeky glint in his eyes.
I could not resist, and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
I like to draw on grey paper as the midtone, and I use black and white charcoal to create form.
05 - Brad, Tricia Migdoll
Finalist
Wrong place wrong time is a self portrait expressing the deep felt disconnection to our native land and it's wildlife.
I live on 200 acres of regenerated Land for Wildlife. The consecutive lockdowns of 2021 amplified feelings of frustration and melancholy due to the destruction and desecration of the original landscape.
Our brutal disrespect and pomposity is expressed in the juxtaposition of the regal Tudor gown lording over the enigmatic ancient country I find myself in.
06 - Wrong Place Wrong Time, Sally Anderson
Finalist
A lack of available sitters during these difficult times has provided the ideal opportunity to paint a self portrait. The advantage of having a sitter who is always available and having no pressure to satisfy a client gives me the freedom to explore honestly how I feel.
07 - Self Portrait in the time of COVID, Bill Beasley
Finalist
Why did I chose to paint Doug Falconer?
I have been painting rock and pop stars all year.
Doug is the boss at Shedshaker, in Castlemaine.
He plays drums in the rock band Hunters and Collectors.
I used chalk on canvas to draw the outline then I moved onto the painting stage and used acrylic paint. Doug came to Lot 19/the studio, I showed him my work, he sat down and I started to draw him. I took photos of him. I liked adding the stenciled pineapples on his shirt and I put an H&C on his t-shirt.
08 - Doug Falconer, Ned Middleton
Finalist
My portraits frequently explore the isolation of modern life, where family and friends can be spread across the world. The enforced separation of families by the “once-in-a-lifetime” pandemic has compounded the loneliness and sadness of distance for many elderly people. In this painting of my 91-year-old mother, Joan, I wanted to depict her willpower and sheer resolve to outlive the pandemic as well as the fatigue of managing lockdowns and caring for her husband at home. Joan’s determination not to be beaten contrasts with the vulnerability of her age.
09 - Joan, Elizabeth Hartland
Finalist
My husband Andrew posed for his portrait with our dog Jade. Being a cheeky Jack Russell she tried to wiggle out of his arm, but I managed to render some sketches and take some photos of the pair. Some years past, and I finally decided to paint this portrait.
10 - Stoic & Wiggly, Gabriela Rovski
Finalist
I have been creating a series of drawings on an ipad using the digital platform Procreate. These portraits are part of a series exploring the fraught, tender and vexed states of introspection and uncertainty that have arisen during the pandemic
11 - Self In Mourning, Rachael Guy
Finalist
This painting is based on a series of digital sketches of a family member started in lockdown last year. The pastel colours, loose line work and brush strokes are influenced by the speed and facility of tablet technology, where playing with layers and forms makes it easy to record, rearrange and repaint many times over. Quickly the face can become a unique kind of human. This is one of the faces that has evolved in a different direction. The smudged and scraped away paint reveals a character that combines a feeling with a specific effect.
12 - Man Series 2, Jude Hotchkiss
Finalist
I met the subject...Sally...during a weeks stay at Confest which is held over Easter.
Confest is an alternative bush festival for social change agents and community dreamers.
I first spotted Sally lounging in a rainbow coloured hammock sporting the most exotic mound of hennaed dreadlocks I had ever seen and looking like, what I would consider, the epitome of Confest. She was a vision who truly inspired me.
After introductions and a comfy chat I asked if she would mind her photo being taken for a possible portrait painting. She was surprised but keen. Chatting further we discovered we’d attended the same high school in the Dandenong Ranges. We are similar in age yet she produced five children and myself only one :)
13 - Confest Mama, Lisa Timson
Finalist
This was painted during the 2020 Covid19 lockdown in using a mirror. I am wearing a green jacket.
I am a better painter than a computer user!
During 2021 our streets were empty of people, an hour of exercise meant the possibility of seeing people albeit at a distance. It was this couple that brought a smile to the neighbourhood everyday as locals passed by.
Why is it that some people arrive in your life and remain on the periphery until circumstances change, then as if by magic they appear.
14 - Smiley, Me, Smiley Williams
Finalist
Profile portrait of my big-hearted neighbor, Vennie wearing a beanie gifted by me. Vennie has been god-sent to me when I moved here alone with my young daughter in this foreign land 3 years ago. She is one of the many kind souls from rainbow communities that I’ve encountered since I moved to Australia. Many of them have come here, where gender diversity is acknowledged, to be who they truly are. I, too am grateful to be able to pursue my love for painting in Australia, rainbows are for real here.
15 - Rainbow Soul, Soo Chua
Finalist
16 - Hans-Martin, Maureen Runge
Finalist
I was inspired by my husband sitting and reading. The light and shadows. I said to him do not move as I am going to paint you. Painted wet on wet on 300gms Arches W/C paper
17 - Wobbly Roy, Emily Provan
Finalist
This piece depicts my husband on a wintry day trying to warm up with a hot cup of tea. He’s all wobbly because he’s not fully awake yet.
22 - Liz, with Pusscat, Mark Dober
Finalist
24 - Being in Bathwater, Croydon Wharéc
Finalist
"The brooding windows to my soul
One for witnessing a far and the other for within
They can find illumination from the brightest of lights
But is it the darkness that devours
At times a burden but no corrective eye surgery for me!"
Adam suffers from bi polar. Vivaciousness and laughter masking the draining of his soul. This drawing of Adam was created from an underling tone of pastel and gesso then I gently drawing with grease pencil. Wiping back with a turpentine soaked cloth, allowing the under drawing to emerge
18 - Adam Marks Bipolar, Catherine Tait
Finalist
I am from Melbourne and work as an Arts Educator and Artist. I started painting this portrait ( among many) after the many lockdowns in 2021. I completed it late December.
I AM Human led me to observe and study my muse- my husband of 32 years. He is a dedicated, loyal and hardworking man. A robust Pipefitter in the Fire Protection Industry based in the CBD. I chose to focus on his expression visualizing the precision and determination he pours into his work and his inventions. The focus can be seen in his eyes-analysing, measuring, and designing with accuracy. Years of hard strenuous work is embedded in deep lines and toughened skin. A true blue Australian worker.
19 - The Pipe Fitter, Liz Millsom
Finalist
It was such a delight to paint Sofia. Such a beautiful young woman. A budding artist herself, I was intent on capturing her sweetness. I enjoyed the way the light played across her lovely face and twinkled in her large expressive eyes. What joy it is to paint the human face and form.!!
20 - Sofia, Tricia Migdoll
Finalist
I have entitled this portrait "Chilled "
It depicts my niece Sade Franklin who is a busy mid-20s young woman who works in the challenging world of nursing in Sydney.
I think that this moment shows her reflecting and possibly contemplating her current busy life. Quite a stark contrast to her childhood growing up in tranquil Narooma on the NSW coast.
21 - Chilled, Mark Franklin
Finalist
Liz, with Pusscat was painted from life in our lounge room. Liz is my wife and Pusscat is our cat. This arrangement of Liz and the cat on the sofa, Liz alternating between stroking the cat and reading from her phone, or a book, is a regular evening occurrence.
I have sought to convey an intimate mood and an unrehearsed or posed moment. Using gouache, I have sought to represent my moments of seeing in shapes of tone and colour.
This work was completed after a long hiatus from portraiture. I had felt that I had lost my creative mojo and was afraid to pick up the paintbrush. However, the way to move forward in my practice was to just persevere. After numerous attempts, this work came together with a hard look in the mirror and a few glasses of red.
23 - After Hiatus, Erika Sorby
Finalist
25 - Self Portrait in Studio 2021, Esther Schouten
Finalist
26 - Self, Chris Hooper
Finalist
Prefer not to make a statement.
27 - Being Devoured, Raj Panda
Finalist
A self portrait about living with depression.
In cooling bathwater, my partner looks despondently past her phone while reflecting on the uncertainties of the Covid pandemic. This painting was inspired by a screenshot captured several hours into one of our daily video calls during the NSW lockdown. Separated by imposed restrictions we were unable to be together in person. Mundane activities shared during these long calls often resulted in us forgetting the camera's presence. In turn, candid and raw moments of contemplation usually occurring in isolation, materialized instead before the camera.
The lock-downs of 2021 provided time for self reflection and questioning. Like many I emerged from a swimming, chaotic, emotional mess with a crystallized clarification. The realization that I want to paint more and paint better. And to share my journey with others inspiring them to enjoy art also. This portrait explores my state of mind at that time of emergence: vulnerability, hope, compassion and courage.
I created the storm that I had suspected was looming all along. My father, never a fan of indoor pets, was awfully surprised when I told him I’d bought a kitten. My confession initially created a storm, made up by none other than my own father’s fury. After picking her up, a lightning storm followed us all the way home.
I, the instigator of the kitten, felt no other name could ever suit her better than Stormi.
Two years later for my recent 18th birthday, I got another kitten, except this time there was no storm, my father enthusiastically agreed.
28 - I Created the Storm (Self-portrait), Tara Bursic
Finalist
I began this portrait of my mother during the last few days of her life whilst I was caring for her. I completed it in July 2021.
Creating it was a healing process, where I could express the intensity of our shared experience, of both her life and her death.
Mum was devoted to her housekeeping and to all the paraphernalia attached to this activity. It gave her life both purpose and constraint, yet it defined her.
She was connected to, and cared about these everyday things as if they were part of her own body.
29 - Faith, Suellen Kennewell
Finalist
The two portraits that I am submitting are in the medium of watercolour.
The subject of both portraits is my nine year old grand daughter, Charlotte.
She was sitting quietly reading in the room while I was making some observational sketches.
I decided that I would try and capture this private space, this moment of unselfconsciousness and young innocence.
In both compositions I have portrayed her in profile. I didn't want her to turn and engage the viewer but for the viewer to be drawn into quiet contemplation.
The medium of watercolour with wet in wet colour washes spreading across the paper seemed to match the fragility of the moment.
30 - Young Girl #2, Judy Perfect
Finalist
Self portrait in Oil.
In these solitary covid days, with the dull heat, some days I feel I'm slowly merging with the garden, and this painting tries to capture some of that sense of my relationship with my surroundings. I bridge the darker interior with its south light and a view of the sunny garden. The composition tries to balance the figure enclosed by the arm and chair back with a more exuberant external image.
The loose brushwork represents my interest in exploring incidental happy accidents and my pleasure in what emerges from time and the process of painting.
31 - Self Portrait, Mark Fuller
Finalist
36 - Pip, Roz Avent
Finalist
Pip is my husband. For nearly 50 years I have explored this face. Time passes but the beloved's face contains both the present and the past.
This is a painting of my mum, who passed nearly 16 years ago. It’s about my experience, connecting, healing and acknowledging her. Myrtle was passionate about the importance of education, especially for women. She was also a gifted actor and director.
I’ve painted her in her study which was an important place for her to study and be other than the farmer’s wife she became later in life. Playing the piano was something she learnt as an older adult. She had always dreamed of learning as a child but the family couldn’t afford it when she was a child.
32 - Myrtle ‘Herself’, Maeve Dunnett
Finalist
Drawing Ed was a wonderful experience as both Jan and Ed welcomed me into their world with ease, no egos, pretensions, or desire to impress an influence of how they want to be seen.
It was authentic, without effort as we shared our histories and family stories which wove the continuum of our timelines to this point where we are now.
Listening, looking, watching light and shadow mold form, observing the uniqueness of every movement to one person.
The drawing of Ed is a simple observation of that one fleeting moment in time, the human experience nothing more, nothing less,
33 - Ed, Naomi Matthews
Finalist
Colour is my favorite form of self expression. A juxtaposition created between colour and realism creates the conflict and chaos that enhances a strong emotional response. I hope this piece makes the viewer feel rather than see the pain and hopelessness in her eyes as well as the strength and defiance it takes to keep moving forward. She is Bold,Strong and Defiant. She is Vulnerable and Broken yet still Beautiful and Hopeful in my eyes. Acrylic on Canvas Completed Dec 2021
34 - My Daughters Pain Through My Eyes, Claire Skeet
Finalist
The COVID-19 pandemic and the recurring lockdowns have changed our society in ways we do not yet understand. While many of us worked from home, there were others who had to turn up to workplaces every day, the ‘essential workers’.
These essential workers have kept collecting rubbish, maintained our power and water connections, ensured that there was food (and toilet paper!) on our supermarket shelves, and kept our trams and trains running for those who rely on public transport.
These new portraits elevate some of these essential workers to the status of those who were traditionally subjects for oil-paint portraiture: royals, religious figures, leaders in politics and industry.
35 - Lucinda, Tram Driver, Avraham Vofsi
Finalist
Dr Cassia Read is an ecologist living in the central goldfields. As well as being personal friends, I am deeply inspired by her passion for nature and conservation, and her work, which encompasses microscopic observation (she has cowritten and illustrated a book on Victorian mosses) and is also far reaching in its vision of a better future. She has worked in landscape restoration, regenerative planting design, climate adaption and education for environmental literacy.
I was also very taken with the beloved family budgerigars, Sky and Bosco, who will sometimes alight on her shoulder and nuzzle her affectionately as she works.
37 - The Ecologist, Gabrielle Martin
Finalist
This is a portrait of the poet, Andy Jackson. His recent collection of poems titled, Human Looking, fits with my request to do his portrait: I am looking at Andy while the viewer will look at my work then Andy is looking back at us. As someone who lives with a disability, he has had to come to terms with this experience of looking. However, for me, it was the depth of compassion and human experience in his eyes that compelled me to ask Andy to be the subject of my painting.
38 - Andy Jackson Portrait, Eleni Rivers
Finalist
The painting was begun the day prior to my sister returning to England in February 2019. It was a struggle to find her under the fraught circumstances. We might have gone for a last bushwalk together around Mt Tarrangower, but instead we were stuck in this painting dilemma.
39 - Geranium Dress, Suzanne McLeod
Finalist
41 - I Need a Miracle, Minal Karim
This is a self portrait during a very difficult time when I looked to God for guidance and a miracle.
47 - The Fiddle Player, Linda Dunstan
Sean is a regular feature on the street in Castlemaine, and other local town centres.Sharing his skill and love of irish jigs and reels with the commumity. Interdispersing juggling, little magic tricks and other oddities where he draws on his vaudevillian self.
40 - Blue Polka-Dot Blouse, Suzanne McLeod
Finalist
This is my dear old friend Sallwa who modelled for me whilst visiting from Sydney in 2020. She said "I packed some nice blouses to wear for you".
This portrait began from a sketch of a photo. Jon, The Writer, was busily keying the last chapters of his new book when I asked him to look up for a photo. I felt the photo depicted so much - I could not resist but to draw it. In his face I saw his creativity, imagination, contemplation and perhaps a peek into his inner thinking. I also hoped to portray Jon’s humour, his mindfulness, his intelligence and humility also evident in the photo. But mostly, I wanted to capture a glimpse into the the mind of The Writer.
43 - The Writer, Rose King
Self Portrait. Whilst in lockdown I decided to take a good long hard look at my self in the mirror and try to imagine what an audience looking at my portrait my seem. Capturing a piercing stare and use of natural tones and values, I wanted to convey to the audience that patience is key!..
44 - Watching you, watching me… Andy Comisso
As an Indian-Australian, I stand at the intersection of two cultures, unsure of how to grapple with my mixed identities. My mother is proud of her Indian heritage whereas I have often dismissed it in order to assimilate into White Australia. This cultural surrender has left me culturally void, an ‘other’ in an Australian and Indian context. ‘The story of us’ seeks to reclaim the rich cultural history that informs my identity through the lens of my mother. It is through her that I have begun to embrace who I am.
45 - The Story of Us, Sid Pattni
‘Young woman freezing eggs in pandemic’ 2021, reveals a woman in pleasure, an orgasmic state. She will save her eggs during the pandemic, the eggs will be frozen for the future, our unknown future. As we enter a Covid world, we struggle to find the answers. We have entered a world where young women are considering freezing their eggs, it is a frightening situation. This artwork has a newspaper title attached on the left side near the frame, it reads; ‘ Woman freezing their eggs in pandemic’. The artwork was created in a dark room with minimal sunlight, reflecting my feelings during initial lockdowns. Further, the artwork has experienced the effects of the pandemic, it was displayed for nearly 5 months in an exhibition space in Melbourne city during lockdown. Lockdown has faded the artwork, the work has felt the pain of Covid too.
(Please note: this artwork reveals a semi-naked figure). It is a self portrait.
46 - Young Women Freezing Eggs in Pandemic, Allison Yanez
51 - Matthew, Daniel Butterworth
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
56 - A Conundrum, Deborah Benson
Chronologically, I be an older human, further long on my life's journey. My face and body reflect an older age, yet my mind is biologically younger. That is why I am looking at you with a saucy grin!
George is a man of many talents and attributes; thoes who know George know him to be a loving and caring man, highly intelligent, efficient, reliable and dependable. George is extremely community minded and is held in high esteem for his commitment to the many organisations he is passionate about.
My aim in the work was to focus on his personality without revealing all of him, so as to imply to those who don’t know George that there is more than meets the eye.
48 - George, more than meets the eye, Kristina Browning
Beauty Is Only Skin Deep, Is a painting that draws on our obsession to find perfection in beauty. I have used thick gluggy paint and turpentine to eat away at the surface to show that true beauty is in our imperfections.
49 - Beauty Is Only Skin Deep, Vieri Landini
I can't help but draw my sense of beauty from the approval of others. Especially from the lips of an intimate partner. So what happens when I don't hear what I want?
This painting captures a pivotal moment for me this year. Of letting go, starting again, and telling myself that - beautiful or not - I am enough.
50 - Self Portrait, Sheng Yi Lee
From a past sometimes dark, my self-portrait looks positively but carefully into the future. Each star is a part of a myriad of positives and possibilities. Not dwelling on the unchangeable but harnessing the joy and strength of friendship and optimism. Using a simple mix of pencil, pen, acrylic and layered aerosol on stretched canvas to create a centred calming image
52 - Imagining 2, Ross Halfacree
In 2012 I was in Afghanistan with Major D, an Australian Army Officer, who was mentoring Colonel Y of the Afghan National Army. Major D has not had contact with the Colonel since the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021. Perhaps the choice of medium, a rubber stamp, can be considered part of the meaning. The expressionistic style can never truly represent the subjects, yet it captures something of their own struggles. War is ultimately about humans and soldiers from all nations are human.
53 - Colonel Y and Major D, James Backwell
Len O is not only a former stockman and farmer, but a real life crocodile hunter! I had the honour of drawing a caricature of Len in honour of his 80th birthday earlier this year but really wanted to paint his portrait properly to try and capture the essence of his outback adventures.
54 - Len, Dave Blumenthal
I be a young human. Beginning my journey with my old faithful companion, teaching me how to care, love, laugh and make the most of every day. We are travelling on a restored steam train which has survived many decades and now providing pleasure and experiences to a modern passenger. In these moments time doesn't matter just the fact we have a travelling companion alongside us.
55 - The Journey, Deborah Benson
this man solves problems. the welsh part of him looks at you when you speak to him and asks "what's wrong?" the solace time is this sitting time with a cup of tea. two knee replacements. two hip replacements. the water-colour red wash reflects the warrior into battle with cows in the dairy, up ladders for construction, under cars and tractors, on train stations with possible miscreants. the dripping water-colour representing the flow of life and lifeblood now merging into green and colour with a new life of country and flowers and gardens. time to enjoy the roses and the solace of the cup of tea as the question what's wrong recedes
57 - What’s Wrong, Kath McCann
58 - The Visual Library, Michelle Zuccol
In this painting I am symbolically held and contained in the composition by my father. As a keen global traveller, he always return with souvenirs including these bookends from India. This in turn inspired me to venture across the globe exploring new cultures, art work and museums. The painting also pays homage to my personal library, celebrating art books. Visual imagery is a unique language which communicates and evokes responses without the need for written text or other support material. We instantly “read the picture” and experience the artwork, connecting or responding to the interpretation and nature of the work.
One day I asked my friend: can we make a deal? You help me to set up my website and I will paint your portrait. He agreed and I painted him clad in his flamboyant outfit encapsulating his personality. I aptly titled this portrait Quid pro quo.
59 - Quid Pro Quo, Gabriela Rosvki
I have been creating a series of drawings on an ipad using the digital platform Procreate. These portraits are part of a series exploring the fraught, tender and vexed states of introspection and uncertainty that have arisen during the pandemic.
60 - Andy Breathes, Rachael Guy
My new work Self Portrait 2021 is painted with artist acrylics on gallery quality stretched canvas. I have attempted to balance the colourful look of the artwork with an almost tired, weary appearance in the eyes and face. This juxtaposition of both brightness and darkness, hope and sadness, youthful colours and world-wearly age gives the viewer, I hope, a better insight into my feelings as an artist with both hope and tiredness inside me. As an artist for over 30 years, I am always struggling with these contrasting emotions, and feel this duality in my life and work, as I'm sure so many of us do.
62 - Self Portrait, Damian Brewer
In this slice of self-portrait my mission is raising awareness of invisible illnesses and disabilities like mine. The injustice and suffering that spirals down into depression and worse. My cyborg arm shows the weight and pain in hands and arms and feeling of powerlessness of not being able to handle life. A ghostly shade portrays separation of soul and markings on mouth suggesting stitches and literally having no voice. Face crumbling like a grotesque gargoyle, forever still and ravaged by time, the egg a symbol of being infertile, the animal tail in my hair depicting the strength of a warrior.
64 - Mangled Arms, Melissa Pam
My portrait of Roger is set in his Iron Art Gallery (Antares), where he creates arrangements and installations from objects that others discard, made from iron, stone, glass and wood. I've been a regular visitor to his garden, since I first met him while studying Art in Castlemaine.
He has generously allowed me to draw some of his work and also now to paint him.
Although I think his face is wonderfully rugged and gentle, I wanted to incorporate the background setting, which shows some of his work and also his connection with the surrounding land and sky.
66 - Man of Iron, Caroline Smyrk
71 - Smiley, Me, Smiley Williams
Self portrait done via a mirror in Covid19 year, 2020.
72 - Wendy, Carolyn Holl
Why is it that some people arrive in your life and remain on the periphery until circumstances change, then as if by magic they appear.
Greg has worked as an actor with a range of Australian theatre companies and television shows.
I painted his portrait over 3 sittings and for the duration of each two hour sitting he held a still and dramatic pose.
His strong features, fiercely burning eyes and magnificent beard were a joy to paint. I could imagine him under the lights on a stage, instead of under the lights in the studio.
I have tried to capture his larger than life presence in my portrait.
67 - Always a Performance, Caroline Smyrk
The Oxford dictionary definition: “to be human means, to show the better qualities of humankind, such as kindness or to be characteristic of people as opposed to God or animals or machines, especially in being susceptible to weakness”.
One human, who is kind, sharp of wit and tongue, with a weakness for Knopper Hazelnut biscuits, is George, artisan framer, colourist, and friend.
His portrait is what I see and feel about George. His eye for detail, care and immersion in his work. To capture this, I searched for these qualities in myself and replicated them carefully in gouache and pencil.
68 - Framing the Framer, Jennifer Chester
This painting is based on a series of digital sketches of a family member started in lockdown last year. The pastel colours and brush strokes are influenced by the speed and facility of tablet technology, where playing with layers and forms makes it easy to record, rearrange and repaint many times over. Quickly the face can become a kind of hybrid human. This is one of the faces that has been extended and distorted but is still recognisable. It shows aspects of the male face that combines a feeling with a specific person.
69 - Man Series 3, Jude Hotchkiss
November and December are our garlic crop harvest months. The harvest is done by hand, no machinery, and the work is hot and long and tiring. My lovely husband who is my subject, is the hardest working of us and come the end of the day he is a sight to behold. Dusty, sweaty and in need of a beer. A vision I have seen many times over the years and this is my version.
70 - Beer O’Clock, Lisa Timson
Portrait of songstress Molly Millington. The new generation of Australian music, Molly has a whimsical sense of self. Her story is just being written, but there is a timelessness about her soul. Unashamedly herself, she feels real in an often fabricated world. 'She be human' I hope I have captured some small spark of that here.
73 - Songbird #1, Nick Buttfield
This portrait of proud Indigenous woman Donna Stolzenberg represents her power and resilience in the face of helping women to safely escape homelessness, people affected by bushfires, or those locked down in the Melbourne towers during COVID-19. It’s a reflection of the determination calling to her to aid through these tough times and portrays her softer more vulnerable side.
Donna is a CEO, keynote speaker and trainer as well as a mother of five boys and a grandmother of two. She is the founder of The National Homeless Collective (NHC), an Australian organisation that helps people affected by homelessness, domestic violence and social disadvantage.
74 - Power and Resilience, Steven Stanley
No matter what facade we choose to show the world we all have a child inside tinged with the sadness of childhood. The adult we become is built upon the degree of that sadness.
75 - Tears for the Child, Sara Bell
Illuminated Emily is a hybrid drawing/painting with a maximalist approach of my eldest daughter. Art graph chalk, graphite, ink, watercolour, copper, gold and silver leaf on 640 gsm Arches cold-pressed watercolour paper.
76 - Illuminated Emily, Linda Shneider
A portrait of my friend Sarah who makes beautiful functional wheel thrown porcelain ceramics. She loves to experiment with glazes of rich hues of golden earthy colours extending to glowing blends of blues, reds and greens. These experiments are first trialled in strips of coloured squares. In this portrait I wanted to capture her warmth and the materiality of a ceramist.
77 - Sarah, Jinette de Goojier
I aimed to portray myself the Migrant from across the sea, the feeling of loneliness and yearning that comes when you come from another country, not knowing the language, culture and ways of the new country. As a family we came, the five of us to Australia for a better life but you leave behind all your family and no one else came.. As you get older you think more and more of what you left behind and wonder and ponder. A bit of sadness to wonder, what if we had stayed! I love my life here but a little part of me still still yearns for the country of my birth.
I’m pondering, what if?
78 - The Migrant, Anna Russia McGrath
To consent to being having your portrait painted is a brave step. Especially if that work is potentially going to open for public viewing. I always had that concern in the back of my mind when looking for a subject. As it turned out I could not have found a better person to realise what is in effect, an intimate collaboration. Pixel is a confident young woman and being captured in oils at a significant period of her life held no terrors. Her composure is self assured, her gaze even and relaxed, transcending time and place.
79 - Portrait of a Young Woman, Anthony Sawrey
The subject is Wendy, a friend and well-known local Yoga teacher who has worked in Central Victoria for many years. Wendy has a beautiful glow and spirit and engenders peace, calm and well-being in her yoga students. Wendy and I worked on two sittings in the studio as well as taking many shots using a variety of her favourite clothes and saris. I wanted to capture her glow and her beauty. Once she relaxed, it was exciting to also see her power and strength come through. The combination of spirit and powerful humanity.
80 - Wendy, Irena Kaczmarek
"Matresence" is a monumental metamorphism of a woman blossoming into motherhood.
I have chosen to name my stylised mixed media portrait Matresence after watching my lovely daughter-in-law blossom and grow into motherhood.
The stylised native flowers and lace juxtaposed onto the portrait were an idea taken from Keely’s bohemian wedding dress and her native flower bouquet.
81 - Matresence, Lynn Holl
Edward Humphries is one of Maldon most interesting residents.
A man of striking appearance, he exudes a generous and gentle disposition.
Ed is a nostalgic collector, enhancing our heritage township with lovely vehicles from the past. His home is a collectors paradise where the eye is always drawn to reminders of our own past.
I enjoyed painting Ed in a free flowing and loose style, inspired by the work of Daniel Butterworth, and by Ed’s ability to look beyond the present.
82 - Ed, Bernice Steinfort
This wet felted portrait has been created from dyed/coloured merino fibre using blended and layered pre-felts. The image has been 'collaged' - using cut and layered shapes to build up a thoughtfully-designed composition of varying thicknesses to create a likeness of my mother Nan at 86 years of age. . I was trying to capture the essence of a fiercly intellingent, independent and gracious woman. The scarf is an offcut of one of her favourite scarves.
83 - Nan Humphrey Suzan Redlande
This is a wet felted portrait created from dyed 22 micron merino fibre. Pre-felts have been created, cut and then layered, creating and building a composition of varying thicknesses to create a likeness of Heather Glavich. Heather is my best friend's mother and she has just turned 94 . She is a gentle, kind and generous woman, always thinking of others. Despite her macular degeneration, Heather is still very active, participating fully in life.
84 - Heather Galvich, Suzan Redlande
Amanda lives in an area with a high concentration of anti-mask and anti-vax locals. Working in retail she was bound by the rules of her workplace to be polite, accommodating and friendly to all customers. She was frequently confronted with people blatantly disregarding her safety, and often had to endure aggressive verbal tirades - including a group of men loudly comparing being forced to wear masks as akin to a woman being raped. Her tiredness and exasperation at the less than human treatment is reflective of the experiences of many retail staff from the last two years of the pandemic.
85 - Amanda, Monika Viktoria Diak
I particularly enjoy making references to historical figurines in my self-portraits, for the qualities and characteristics I feel I value or represent myself. In this particular work, I embody the persona of Catherine the Great, known for championing the arts, education, and women’s rights. All of these areas are passions of mine, and thus this work is a homage to a strong and powerful woman.
86 - Erika the Great (homage to Catherine), Erika Sorby
Ever since I was a kid, I never liked my name. I had always thought that the name sounded very conservative. Therefore, I changed my name to a name that I thought suited my personality.
Years later after crossing the oceans and settled in a foreign land, it dawned on me that I should accept who I am and where I came from. I started to appreciate my culture and my old name.
I believe a metamorphosis is going to happen . After all, I was born an ugly duckling but destined to be a swan.
87 - My Name is Swan, Soo Swan
I am a printmaker who is on the autism spectrum, and I live with bipolar disorder. These things don’t define me, but they help make me who I am. This self-portrait, completed on the 20th of October 2021, speaks to the fragmentation I have experienced living with these mental health conditions. Fragmentation of the mind, reality, identity, etc. By creating the work using the refined and methodical techniques of mezzotint and drypoint engraving, I address notions of repetition and consistency. Which help me maintain stability and in times of recovery. Such as taking medication, exercising, routines, practising art and music.
88 - It’s Scary, Kieran Stopp
My piece is all to do with a big cat..
In this case a really big cat THE LION KING..
I am an artist specializing in portraits, both human and animal kind.
I especially like to paint cats, ALL cats big and small.
I totally adore big cats and that is why I decided on a SELF PORTRAIT WITH LION.
Every artist should do a self portrait. Painting is a solitary activity and an artist looks inward and says more about how she/he feels about the subject than what it is.
Every painting is a challenge and self portraits are the biggest challenge because they are so personal. Every artist should paint at least one.
89 - Self Portrait with King, Lilly Anoneavic
This is a self portrait done with joy and fun. During these troublesome and uncertain times I wanted to paint a portrait with the love and joy that I have being an artistic human. This has kept me balanced and connected to my sense of self during this Covid outbreak.
90 - Self Portrait, Anne Esposito
The two portraits that I am submitting are in the medium of watercolour.
The subject of both portraits is my nine year old grand daughter, Charlotte.
She was sitting quietly reading in the room where I was making some observational sketches.
I decided that I would try and capture this intimate and what I saw as a private space, this moment of unselfconsciousness and young innocence.
In both compositions I have shown her in profile. I didn't want her to turn and engage the viewer but for the viewer to be drawn into a quiet contemplation.
The medium of water colour with wet in wet colour washes spreading across the paper seemed to match the fragility of the moment.
91 - Young Girl #1, Judy Perfect
An only child growing up in rural Sutton Grange, I discovered my love of drawing and music.
Both have followed me through my life, if only in the background. Moving back to Bendigo and semi retiring, enabled me time to pursue my love of drawing. My charismatic neighbour "Barry" with his interesting features was my perfect choice. His trusty hat a bonus.
93 - Barry, Susie Robinson
An orphaned possum entered Wilma's life by chance. Wilma named her foster possum baby Lucky. Wilma and Lucky took delight in each other's company. Lucky stayed in Wilma's care until she was old enough to be introduced into the wild. Sharing love with another creature is always worthwhile, even when time is limited.
This portrait was painted in watercolour, completed 2 August 2021.
94 - Wilma’s Lucky, Minuk Richards
Music can provoke positive feelings. Gabrielle plays in community groups and loves making music. Playing music for yourself brings personal pleasure and sharing music with others can be a true celebration of life.
This portrait was done in watercolour and pencil on canvas, completed 3 January 2022.
95 - Happy Strums, Minuk Richards
A portrait of a child has the power to provoke an intensified sense of the fleeting and transitory, as a child naturally exists in a state of imminent and constant change.
The child in this painting (my own child) takes part in an ordinary suburban ritual of trick or treat in a rudimentary costume. Dress-up and playfulness wrestle with a sense of melancholy and fragility. The Cat Girl is in a twilight zone between day and night, where she is both ordinary and other worldly, familiar but etherial, real but dreamlike.
96 - Cat Dreams of Treats, Rebecca Armstrong
A portrait of my brother in law Leo.
As a portrait artist I am interested in the personas we create, admire and desire and the performative nature of contemporary culture.
Drag queen, artist and florist, Leo is the master of role play and fantasy.
97 - LJC, Bridgette McNab
My mother turned 99 last year and had been in care for the last four years. Although she became increasingly frail, she was mentally alert right up to when she passed in November. The aim of the portrait is to show her determination and strength of personality, as well as her struggle with her incapacity.
98 - Connie Gude, Neil Gude
In this piece, I have captured a very vulnerable moment of my younger sister, minutes away from attending an online lecture. This moment is so unique, as my generation is the first to have experienced life through the lens of a pandemic. The harsh realities of the lockdowns have immensely impacted our mental, social and physical wellbeing, revealing a different side to the human condition.
100 - Got Class in 5, Andre Bruzzese
Beholder is a self-portrait, depicting a person with closed eyes, holding an eye between her lips. With her own eyes closed, the subject sees through this lens, offering a new perspective on what she witnesses. Executed in refined realism technique, viewers notice the subtle veins and shifts in colour present in her skin. Painted in a live sitting, and using my own mother’s eyes, the piece comments on human connection and viewing the world through the lens of others. This surrealist work expresses the act of holding the view of my mother and the women before me.
101 - Beholder, Alice Althorp
107 - Raf, James Tinsley
Raf is wonderful and curious boy. I hope this portrait captures his optimistic and bright nature as well as the twinkle in his eye.
108 - Self-portrait Near Windang Island, Julie McCurry
For most health workers over the last two years their mask has become inseparable from their identity, leaving these front line heroes anonymous and generic.
My portrait of Helen expresses that anonymity and draws on the enduring qualities of stone – strength, resilience and grace – to convey the calm strength under pressure that we have come to expect from our health professionals. But there is also a hint of quiet vulnerability, a sense that the poise may not hold indefinitely…
102 - Dr Helen, Simon Harris
This is a drawing of my 16-year-old son. He is a passionate kick boxer, it’s a game of strategy for him. So, a fist doesn’t always mean a punch expressed in anger. I draw him repeatedly trying to get to the essence of who he is in the moment. The teen spirit that is curious, creative, and focused on seemingly everything and nothing all at once. I think we are in the same game trying to be present in the moment, aware and constantly on our toes. We are trying to win over that fleeting moment.
103 - Teen Spirit, Anne Kwasner
This portrait of Amanda was from the last night of my stay in Sofala, as I sat around her dining table with my art wives, as we all ate, drank and shared stories.
It speaks to a moment captured in time in between raucous laughter and hilarity.
104 - The Last Night in the Shed, Fleur Stevenson
This is George. He is in the midst of study, the final phases of completing his doctorate. The intensity of his gaze sums up where he is sitting, struggling to balance the pressure with the load of family and work. Normally someone with a positive disposition he questions if it is worth the pain and sacrifice.
105 - George, Anne Kwasner
Self-portrait (Summer) was painted from life in my studio. Looking into the mirror I scrutinised intensely, building the portrait one patch at a time. The painting is a compilation of many moments of looking over many days, recording in tone, colour and line my subjective experience of seeing.
My portrait juxtaposes complementary colour contrasts of lilac and yellow ochre. The brown hair is a mixture of these colours, linking them. The painting is high-keyed though the darker tone of the hair establishes contrasts and creates an abstract quality. The darkest tone of the eyes compels the viewer's attention.
106 - Self-portrait (Summer), Elizabeth Nelson
Forced isolation creates a need to connect to the environment and other individuals. Covid rules prevented me from sitting at my local beach and meeting family and friends. For I to be human, walking on the beach for one hour a day enabled me to connect with other beach walkers and swimmers. This image portrays me in my element, stripped back with blue bathing cap in hand ready to enter the ocean, to immerse myself and enjoy this moment of bliss.
This is a painting of my father now in his eighties. As he winds down he reflects mostly on the past slowly reconciling with his (our) own future.
‘when someone becomes resigned to something not desired’
110 - Reconciliation, Sara Bell
My art making is informed by my ongoing enquiry into the mutable nature of memory. I have painted my father, a powerful influence in my life and my only surviving parent. Rather than attempting to produce a physical likeness, I am seeking a psychological mimesis that speaks to my father's character and our long and complex relationship.
112 - PRH, Melinda Hunt
Shann is a fellow artist and close friend of many years, currently pursuing her two passions of art and motorcycling. I wanted to capture her strength and her sensitivity and her beautiful work worn hands in this charcoal and pastel sketch
113 - Shann, Janet Hayes
Human nature is multifaceted, so I wanted to explore the depth of emotions and how they convey stories. Through my work, you can see how both positive and negative experiences are displayed on individual people. It’s interesting to observe how shared and individual experiences within human nature impact everyone differently.
I explore reactions and thoughts, and how a lifetime of experiences affect the face, as although we’re all of different ages, ethnicities, genders, etc., humans can recognise that the face tells a deeper story.
Thus, I challenge audiences: What stories do these faces tell?
114 - Stories of Emotions, Bethany Tung
I am not a professional artist. In the past two years or so, I have been squeezing almost all my spare time painting. When I think about expressing who I am as an artist, and as a professional in technology, geometric forms always feel nostalgia due to the years I spent in computer graphics. Painting this self-portrait reminds me of my good old PhD years where I studied extensively on some graphics and imaging algorithms. Nevertheless, COVID-19 and working from home seem to have become the integration point: art, technology, and work. And hence, the birth of this painting.
115 - Self and Geometries, Florence Wang
Maggie Jackson is an accomplished composer, musician, singer and a fabulous story teller. Together with her New York Jazz Quartet, Maggie is a regular entertainer ant Maggie Fooke's Norther Arts Hotel in Castlemaine. Maggie’s personality shines as does her stage presence and it was easy to capture her exuberance. I decided to interpret the portrait of Maggie in charcoal. I love the directness and spontaneity of this medium with its strengths, but just as much, charcoal allows the gentle subtleties if all that you need is a ‘whisper’…
117 - Maggie Jackson, Jennifer Barnett
Maggie Fooke is owner operator of the Northern Arts Hotel in Casltemaine — a mecca for performing and visual arts related events. She is very well known in the arts industry, particularly film making. I ran into Maggie at the supermarket and told her that I needed a good face to paint and asked could I “borrow” hers. She agreed and we arranged a sitting. I chose to paint Maggie's portrait in sepia/monotones using oil paint on linen. The whole process went smoothly, she just seemed to appear and I was very happy with the result.
