Archibald Prize Portrait Project 2025

Earlier in the year my brilliant friend Lexi Keelan and I created entries for the Archibald Portrait Prize. This was our second time entering and we once again drove up to the Gallery of NSW to drop off our artworks and peek inside the famous Packing Room.

Left: Me with my portrait in the packing room. Right: Lexi with her portrait in the packing room.

We were fortunate to be photographed and interviewed by the Associated Press as we dropped off our entries.

Friends Lexi Keelan and Emma Batchelor travelled from Canberra to deliver their portraits for the second year in a row - they both painted Batchelor.

"The last few times I've painted myself, I tend to focus on the darker aspects of myself," Batchelor said.

"But Lexi always paints me so bright and beautiful."

You can read the full article here.

Left: My self portrait. Right: Lexi's portrait of me.

This year I was interested in continuing my theme of 'The Hermit' by continuing to draw on my home as an expression of self. I used acrylic gouache on clay board to build up layers of colour and texture. I was interested in capturing something a bit more whimsical inspired by some of the artworks below.

Left to Right: Artworks by David Horgan, Victor Man, Isabella Cotier and Kirsty Lackie.

Lexi has made a short video about her creative process. This year Lexi was particularly interested in playing with mixed media and the layering of paint and colour.

Check out the finalists from 2025 via the link below 👇

You can also read more about our portraits from 2024 here: