Portrait Artist Of The Year (AU) Season 1 Episode 5

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Portrait Artist Of The Year (AU) Season 1 Episode 5   #PortraitArtistOfTheYear  #RealityInsightHub   🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️  👉 Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/TrailerBolt  👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Transcript

00:00from all over Australia have traveled to Sydney's White Bay Power Station for a

00:05life-changing opportunity. I'm all a bit nervous, all a bit excited, a bit of both.

00:09The chance to win a prestigious commission to hang in the National

00:12Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Last week Amanda Wee-Well's beautifully

00:19detailed gouache portrait of Adam Liao wowed the judges. She is fantastically

00:25skilled watching the way that she put down layers of paint to capture that

00:28warmth. Amanda. This time nine more gifted artists go head-to-head painting some of

00:38Australia's most famous faces. Please welcome Madison de Rosario. Madison's a

00:4330 year old woman in a wheelchair. My friend Madokine. Matt's bald and has light

00:49brown skin. Amanda Keller. Amanda's in her 60s with short blonde hair. You look fabulous.

00:55Well thank you. I don't have to bother about holding my stomach in. I've

00:58chosen this outfit very carefully. So who will have what it takes? This is quite

01:05impressive. It's very difficult to do. To claim the second last spot in the

01:12semi-final. The paintings are revealed and Amanda gasps. A swirl of colourful paint.

01:21Portrait artist of the year. Hosted by Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor. The Australian Broadcasting

01:27Corporation presents an Endermol Shine Australia production. Today is our penultimate heat in the

01:35competition. I'm actually really excited about getting to paint someone that I don't know. Usually I have to

01:40get friends and family to sit for me. With six amateurs and three professional artists. I have seven portraits

01:47in the National Portrait Gallery. But four hours is tight. Four hours is tight.

01:53Four hours is tight. The artists arrange their various tools and equipment.

02:00Each artist submitted a self-portrait that earned their place in the competition.

02:06Deciding which artists will go through to the semi-final are our judges. Associate Professor

02:15of Art History at Australian National University, Robert Wellington. Director of the National Portrait

02:22Gallery Australia, Bree Pickering. And award-winning multidisciplinary artist, Abdul Abdullah.

02:29Are you ready to look at a wide variety of artwork?

02:31Indeed. Luke. We are starting with Sandhya, who is a self-taught artist and an IOT professional.

02:41It's a really beautiful and tender painting. And to see that she's self-taught I think is

02:46extra special. And the face is painted so well. But then the hands, they start to fade away in the

02:53level of detail. So it'll be super interesting to see what she does today with her for an hour.

02:57This is Lucky, who is a dancer. That was his main way of storytelling. But he's moved into art and his

03:05main material is tape.

03:06I love this. These are not traditional art materials. This is not a traditional painting. But it's a

03:13brilliant portrait. What Lucky's work is doing is it's going beyond the frame and coming out into 3D space for us.

03:19This is Avett, who is already a very successful artist. He's painted the bananas in pyjamas.

03:26Ah!

03:27It's a long time dream of mine.

03:29I think what we're seeing here is what we see in self-portraits quite often of artists, where they're really

03:35pushing forward their role as an artist. You can see the frames, you can see the easel in the background,

03:42the naked female form. Do we know who that is?

03:46Avett's wife.

03:47Ah, right.

03:48Yeah, she's looking at him, and he's looking at us.

03:50It does feel like we've walked in on something. Sorry, sorry, are you worried about that?

03:56This is Alison, who is a really well-established graphic artist, worked with Vogue, Mushroom Records,

04:02and has now quit and pursued her dream of becoming an artist.

04:06I think we can see that this is a professional artist. I like it as a painting. The challenge

04:12for an artist like Alison is getting that balance between getting the likeness that we need

04:16for it to be a good portrait, and making a painting that we can appreciate as a compelling

04:22work of art.

04:25This is Blair, who is an emerging artist.

04:27The first thing that I see is the colour. Like, it's a really magnificent colour, really

04:32interesting. I also like how she's drawn attention to the tattoo on her foot. The light that's

04:38striking her leg almost pulls you right to the foot. Feet, like hands, are difficult things,

04:43and she's done a really good job at both of these things.

04:48This is Natasha. She describes herself as a magical realist painter. She's giving a sorceress

04:55energy here, and you know what? I absolutely love it. That sunlit cloud in the background,

05:01gives us that sense of a dream space. Now, how is she going to work with her sitter to

05:06reveal something of their energy?

05:10This is Cece. Cece has created a kind of playful and magical space. Look at the little rubber

05:16duck on her head, and her plaits, her hair, her braids have become little love hearts connected

05:22together. It's giving me that sense of synesthesia, which means when you take one sense and translate

05:28it into another. And in a way, I think there's something synesthetic about Cece's work.

05:35Jenna comes to us all the way from the Pilbara in WA, and she's an untrained artist.

05:40As an artist from Perth, I'm so happy to see another artist from WA, and interesting to

05:44see that she's depicted herself on a palette. I think she's such a highly skilled painter.

05:50You can see the veins in the feet, like, and working on that scale, that is not an easy

05:53thing to do.

05:55Jenna's covering her nude body in the small painting.

05:59This is Daniel, who is a flooring contractor, and he actually got his start as a teenager

06:03doing graffiti.

06:06This is a lot of fun. It's loose, it's ugly painting. A lot of portraits are vanity portraits.

06:11They want to make people look really beautiful, bring out their best side. So what I'm loving

06:17about Daniel's work is this is an energy portrait. It's fun. I want to meet him. That's what this

06:24work does for me.

06:26Daniel has a beard and is showing a toothy smile. The artists set up their paints and easels.

06:32Our nine artists are split into groups of three. In just four hours and in front of an audience,

06:40each trio will be creating a portrait of a celebrity who's brought in an object to help

06:46the artists get some insight into their personality.

06:51This guest has ruled Australia's airwaves for over 20 years with her co-host Jonesy.

06:58It is an absolute abomination she has not won a gold Logie yet. She received an Order of

07:03Australia for her contribution to media and community. She's also the host of The Piano.

07:09Can you please welcome Amanda Keller?

07:15Amanda's wearing a loose matching outfit with bright colourful flowers on a black background,

07:19as well as a sparkly braided necklace.

07:21Nice to meet you.

07:23Nice to meet you.

07:24Hello, Jenna.

07:25Hello, Jenna.

07:26How are you?

07:27Hello, Natasha.

07:28Hello, Natasha.

07:29Hello, you.

07:30Hello.

07:31How are you?

07:32Good.

07:34Please take a seat. Make yourself comfy.

07:35So, here we go.

07:36Now, I suppose like on the radio you're like you can scratch your face, like pick your nose,

07:41do anything, right?

07:42Oh, absolutely.

07:43I do all of that.

07:44I do all of it.

07:45So, this is an adjustment.

07:46No, this is quite an adjustment.

07:47What have you brought today?

07:48Oh, look.

07:49This is Peter the Panda and he's my first toy and he reminds me of my childhood which

07:57was wonderful. I remember it being solid and loving and he's kind of a touchstone for

08:02gratitude, for humility, for all kinds of things.

08:07Well, you look fabulous.

08:09Well, thank you.

08:10And...

08:11I don't have to bother about holding my stomach in.

08:12I've chosen this outfit very carefully.

08:14Make yourself comfy.

08:17It's going to be great.

08:18Unreal.

08:19I'm excited.

08:20This guest is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair racer.

08:24She has competed in five Olympic Games.

08:27She's brought home eight medals, two gold, four silver and two bronze.

08:31I may ask if she doesn't mind giving me one of the spares.

08:34Please welcome Madison De Rosario.

08:36Madison has tanned skin, dark features and dark blonde hair.

08:41Please meet around us.

08:43Hello.

08:44Hi.

08:45Hi.

08:46I'm Madison.

08:47I'm Shishin.

08:48Nice to meet you.

08:49Hi.

08:50I'm Alison.

08:51Alison, nice to meet you.

08:52I'm Madison.

08:53Avent.

08:54Avent.

08:55Nice to meet you.

08:56Welcome, welcome.

08:58This feels very formal now.

08:59Congratulations on all the medals for starters.

09:01It's incredible.

09:02I'm assuming the novelty of winning a medal never wears off.

09:05It must be amazing every time.

09:06Yeah, it is.

09:07It's a pretty unreal experience.

09:09This is probably the most special one.

09:11This is from the marathon on the last day at the Tokyo Paralympics.

09:14It was a sprint finish in a marathon which is one of the most brutal things I think I've

09:18ever had to do in a race.

09:19What's it like with the other athletes because you're competing against each other obviously.

09:23Is it friendly banter before you start or are you psyching each other out?

09:27You know what?

09:28I'm so impressed by all the women that I race and my coach and I disagree on this point.

09:32My coach is Louise Sauvage and she's just one of the most competitive, aggressive,

09:36she's able to hate her competitors and just go in and want to win.

09:40I have like little girl crushes on everyone that I race.

09:42Yeah, right.

09:43I'm like you're so cool.

09:44Is that weird though?

09:45Like beating someone and as you go past them going I'm a big fan.

09:48Literally, that's the whole vibe.

09:52This guest has been performing stand-up here and abroad for over 15 years.

09:56He was amazing on Triple J Breakfast and he's just as excellent on a new ABC series of Mother

10:02and Son.

10:03I also really like his music.

10:05Please welcome my friend Matt Okai.

10:07Matt's tall, gaudy-ish and has a light beard.

10:14How are you?

10:15Hello, Matt.

10:18Hello, Matt.

10:20Hi.

10:21G'day, Matt.

10:22Nice to meet you.

10:23How are you buddy?

10:24It's good to see you.

10:25I'm really great.

10:26This is so exciting.

10:27Matt, you brought in a coffee mug.

10:29Do you want to tell us a bit about your personal item today?

10:32Yeah, so look I've had this mug ever since I was a very small child.

10:36Everyone in our family had one.

10:39My dad, my mum and my sister, they all had our names on them.

10:43My mum passed away when I was 12 so she died of breast cancer that had spread to her brain.

10:49And every time I look at this mug it reminds me of a time when we were all together in the one house as a family.

10:57And no one ever calls me Matthew either, you know, so it's sort of like it really, really reminds me of that sort of time.

11:08Yeah, I don't drink much coffee out of it. I'm more of a Milo on the weekends kind of guy.

11:14This is a really light-hearted question, but do you mind me asking what Milo, is it two teaspoons, three teaspoons?

11:20I'm strictly a two-teaspoon guy.

11:23No sugar?

11:24No.

11:25What?

11:27I've been told I've only got six days to live, but it's worth it.

11:30Matt, thank you so much for joining us. Please welcome Matt O'Kine, everyone.

11:40Let's haul chimney outside the power station, then wrought iron valves polished to a dark sheen.

11:46Artist, your challenge is about to begin.

11:50You have four hours to complete your portraits.

11:56And your time starts...

11:58Now!

12:01Matt chats to his artist.

12:03Photo time.

12:05You guys just asked me to do whatever.

12:06Are you good at holding mugs?

12:08Yeah, I can definitely hold the mug.

12:09Cool.

12:10Do this first.

12:12Are you doing Wordle?

12:14And when you finish, give me your phone and I may as well do Wordle.

12:18They take photos of their subjects.

12:20That's exactly what I want and one more angle.

12:23Just be smiley, but smiley.

12:26Not bad.

12:27Not bad?

12:28Just smiley.

12:30We've got a lovely side profile.

12:34Get my earrings in, they might be a tax deduction.

12:37Oh, smart.

12:38Yeah.

12:39Don't know if that's true.

12:41Our nine artists will be creating portraits in a range of different mediums.

12:47Whether or not they include the sitter's personal object is up to them.

12:51That's perfect for me.

12:53To secure a spot in the semi-final, the artists need to present a portrait that stands out from the crowd and captures the essence of their sitter.

13:02Are you painting on anything?

13:04What are you doing, Jenna? You're painting a block of wood.

13:07From the Pilbara, sir.

13:08Wow.

13:09I took out basically all of the weight of my bag.

13:11I bet it did.

13:13And if the painting doesn't work out, you've got a lovely chopping board.

13:16Exactly.

13:1725-year-old Jenna Pickering is a community development officer.

13:22An untrained artist, Jenna loves to paint in intricate detail, and her self-portrait took 30 hours to complete.

13:31So this is what you're working on, and you're working oil paint over gesso?

13:36Yes.

13:37Normally I try and match the canvas to the subject, but without knowing Amanda beforehand I couldn't pick a canvas that would have suited her.

13:45And seeing the other work that you've done, the level of detail is pretty amazing.

13:50Yeah.

13:51But I know that they're not 4-hour paintings.

13:53Yeah, they are not.

13:54How are you going to translate those particular skills?

13:57I practiced for this, just someone in town, just a little one.

14:01I've got a few fun ones, I'm painting someone on a guitar at the moment.

14:05Like I love musicians, I reckon they're my favourite people to paint, so.

14:09No offence.

14:10I know, I'm trying not to take offence.

14:11You've got to read the rooms, Jenna.

14:14Yeah, yeah.

14:15Wait, she can hear us from here?

14:16Now you can paint a scowl.

14:21Blair's painting while wearing headphones, and Daniel starts his painting with a bright yellow outline.

14:29Both of us like working from life, as opposed to taking a photograph.

14:33Awesome, yeah.

14:34So you've got to try to find what I call, like, a hero pose.

14:39More like that.

14:41Cool.

14:43It's hard, you have to pick a point, like, for someone.

14:46A fire extinguisher.

14:47This is what I do.

14:48Like, I know it's a bit kind of ticky.

14:50Yeah.

14:51But if I put this here, then you'll know that that goes like that.

14:55Love that.

14:56Just there, yeah.

14:57Yeah.

14:58I do prefer to work whole and solely from life.

15:02Every time I embark on a new portrait, there's a bespoke challenge.

15:08Like, especially if I've never met them before, and you've got to make these kind of snap decisions.

15:13I like that.

15:16Ava Plough's artistic talent was recognised early.

15:20He won his first painting award at just 16 years old.

15:24In 1997, he made headlines when his portrait of the bananas in pyjamas was controversially rejected from the Archibald Prize, sparking discussion around the nature of portraiture.

15:37Just two years later, he claimed victory, winning the Archibald Packing Room Prize with his striking portrait of acclaimed actress Deborah Mailman.

15:48Hi, Yvette.

15:50Your portrait of Deb is a big favourite at the Portrait Gallery.

15:54I know, it's always, yeah, it's good, isn't it?

15:57Yeah, it's beautiful.

15:58She just shines out.

15:59Actually, she's got that similar exuberant energy.

16:05Yeah.

16:06Are you going to bring that into this portrait?

16:09I want to bring in a steely determination rather than a smiley.

16:16I kind of want to show her eyes and, in her arms, that kind of strength.

16:23Ava starts his portrait with earthy colours.

16:27Matt's artists begin to outline him on their canvases.

16:30Blair.

16:32This doesn't look like much yet, but I'm just doing some of the mapping stage.

16:36We'll see.

16:39I need to have my headphones on to keep myself focused.

16:43I usually play music or listen to The Office on repeat.

16:49Blair, an emerging artist from Sydney's northern beaches, has recently been diagnosed as autistic.

16:55She embraces her ability to hyper-focus, often becoming so immersed in her work that she can paint for ten hours straight, creating pieces that reflect her deep connection to her craft.

17:08Hi there, Blair.

17:09Hi there, Blair.

17:10Oh, hi.

17:11Hello.

17:12You've made a strong start.

17:13I can really see that you're using a single tone colour here.

17:15You've got a kind of a browny, red-y umber and you're sketching out.

17:18Yeah.

17:19Yeah, yeah, yeah.

17:20That's usually how I start.

17:21And I can see you've got a lovely picture of Matt here with the mug.

17:24Yeah.

17:25Um.

17:26I just want to make him have it up to his face all day.

17:29How much is coming from life and how much is coming from the photograph for you at this stage?

17:33I like to look at the sitter because reading expressions doesn't come naturally to me when I'm talking to someone.

17:41The best way I can do it is through painting.

17:44That's lovely.

17:45Yeah.

17:46Alison paints on a mirror while Lucky starts with black strips of tape.

17:55Cece approaches Madison and asks, do you happen to like sunflowers?

17:59Do you like sunflowers?

18:00Yeah.

18:01Because your bright smile reminds me of that.

18:06Madison beams.

18:07Instead of sitting on a chair, I'm going to make her sitting on a bunch of sunflowers.

18:12Yeah.

18:16Cece Hong has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and is currently studying to be an art conservator at the National Gallery of Australia.

18:24Her self-portrait, painted in oils, showcases what she loves about the world and reflects her joyful personality.

18:34Hi Cece.

18:35This is looking gorgeous.

18:38She's a beautiful lady, Jo.

18:41What made you get into painting?

18:43Painting.

18:44Painting is just, it's just something I've been doing my whole life pretty much.

18:48I start drawing since I was in kindergarten and it just, it become like a natural thing to do.

18:54Like, you know, go to art school.

18:56Even I have no hearing problem, but painting is a way for me to like overcome it.

19:02I can kind of put my emotion like on a canvas, like wherever I'm happy or not.

19:09Yeah.

19:10I love it.

19:12Amanda.

19:13Does someone tell you when you're an hour in or anything?

19:17Is there any markers of time?

19:19Or is it just my five o'clock shadow that's the giveaway?

19:22Jenna paints on the white strip of her small piece of wood, while the portraits start to resemble their subjects.

19:29Artists, you are one hour down, we have three hours to go.

19:33Jenna and Avett pull faces.

19:39You got this team Matt, let's go.

19:42Make me look beautiful.

19:43Natasha takes a deep breath.

19:46I'm travelling okay.

19:47Yeah.

19:48Not too much.

19:49I'm kind of on the, walking the tightrope right now between having enough time and not.

19:58I'd like to be home before Christmas if that's alright with everybody.

20:01You and I both.

20:02Natasha Zoraikat is a graphic designer who was born in California to Jordanian-Palestinian

20:11and Russian-Ukrainian parents.

20:14Her self-portrait is part of a larger series, examining the connection between humans and the natural world.

20:21Hi, Natasha.

20:23I was drawn in because I saw you were doing something really interesting.

20:26You created a drawing and you've put a wash over the top.

20:29Yeah.

20:30To create what, a medium tone?

20:31It's called the subtraction method, but it's like to remove the lights quickly.

20:35So yeah, I've got a mid-tone here, exactly right, and then I'm gonna, I'm pulling away the lights.

20:40Okay, so you're modelling now, you're getting those three dimensions.

20:43Basically.

20:44You're getting those proportions right.

20:45And then when I start painting I'll go on with the darks.

20:47Sounds like you've got your head in the game though.

20:49Yeah.

20:50That's really fantastic to hear.

20:51Yeah, hopefully I do.

20:52Excellent.

20:53We'll see.

20:54Alright, Natasha, good luck.

20:56A few people are watching Jenna work.

20:58Luke.

20:59Okay, we're fairly early on in the process.

21:01How are our painters faring so far?

21:04Cece is a very gestural painter.

21:06She works with a lot of bold colour.

21:08Her self-portrait, there's a lot of detail.

21:10So I suppose in the later part of the paint today, once she feels confident that she's

21:14locked in Madison's likeness, we might see that starting to develop.

21:19Avett was one of the more experienced painters.

21:22Avett is a professional, and he also works from life, so there's no photograph.

21:27And Madison, she's an athlete, she's got a lot of energy, she's moving a lot.

21:32So he is struggling with that.

21:34One thing I was impressed with, straight out of the gate, was his understanding of tone

21:38and colour.

21:39He captured the beautiful tone of Madison's skin.

21:42Immediately, he had an eye for that colour.

21:44This is the professional painter's eye, a painter who understands that colour and tone

21:49and form are all parts of creating a likeness.

21:52Now, going over to Matt O'Kine's pod, Blair.

21:55What I love about this, she heard Matt's story.

21:58There's something about the way she's captured this mug that's very important to him.

22:02It epitomises the concept of bittersweet.

22:04It's really quite impressive.

22:07She has her own touch and her own style.

22:09She's building up what we would call tash marks.

22:12They're sort of individual strokes of paint, and it's building up this surface.

22:15And it's a really wonderful surface to look at.

22:18A great materiality to that surface of the paint.

22:20She's getting a really good likeness.

22:22I think Blair's one to watch for sure.

22:24Yeah, right.

22:26Now, Lucky, uh, tape.

22:28I thought that this would be a quick process, but it is actually very slow and very detailed.

22:36And his process is actually very sculptural.

22:38He is trying to capture the spirit and likeness of the sitter.

22:43But I think in terms of getting exacting proportions, this isn't really something that's at the forefront of his mind.

22:50Jenna, one of the self-taught artists, how is she faring in the competition?

22:54She was so poised and confident going to that canvas.

22:57And she was getting the proportions really well first pass.

23:01And she knows what she wants.

23:03That's what I love.

23:04It is unexpected for a self-taught artist.

23:06Her style is a realist style.

23:09Can she manage to achieve that level of finish in four hours?

23:12We'll have to wait and see.

23:13But at this stage, I think she's made a strong start.

23:15Is there anyone you're worried about?

23:17I'm more worried for us, if I'm honest, because there are a lot of strong paintings today.

23:21And I think it's going to be very, very hard for us to come up with our top three.

23:24Okay.

23:26Lucky is a black man in his birdies, and he's wearing a cap with headphones over it.

23:31He cuts thin strips of electrical tape with a box cutter,

23:34then uses the black tape to create Matt's outline.

23:38Abdul.

23:39Man, it's looking amazing so far.

23:42You're the only one who's not using paint.

23:44So the paintings, I kind of get where they're going.

23:46I know where they are and I can imagine where they're going to end up.

23:48But this is the only one where I have no idea.

23:50This is like way more complicated.

23:52Yeah, yeah.

23:53Lucky Lati is a former dancer turned visual artist,

23:57who works exclusively with electrical tape.

24:01This unique artistic exploration began during COVID lockdown,

24:05offering Lucky a new avenue for creative expression,

24:08when his primary art form was restricted.

24:12Is it always electrical tape or do you use other types of tape as well?

24:15Always electrical tape.

24:16I suppose it's got a flexibility to it that you can pull it and turn it.

24:20Yeah.

24:21I just want to try to get the likeness because sometimes it's very hard.

24:25The mouth is his.

24:27The nose is his.

24:28The eyes is his, bro.

24:29Yeah.

24:30You've got the likeness, bro.

24:31A time lapse shows Lucky's tape portrait coming together.

24:35Daniel, a bald white man for beard,

24:38puts some yellow paint on a paper plate.

24:41Is that your favourite dish, Daniel?

24:44Why do you use that little paper plate?

24:45It's handy.

24:46It's not very conventional.

24:47Mmm.

24:48Like the other pallets.

24:49So have your party pies on?

24:51Yeah.

24:52My pallet cost $1.99 from Woolworths.

24:56Daniel Kelly is an Indigenous Australian artist based in New South Wales.

25:02In addition to working as a flooring contractor,

25:05Daniel has gained international recognition for his album cover commissions.

25:11So you're a Waddy Waddy and Ewan man.

25:14Yep, yep.

25:15I love hip hop.

25:16Yep.

25:17And you've painted the album covers of NWA, Cypress Hill.

25:23Yep, yep, yep.

25:24I've worked with DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Ice Cube.

25:28Ice Cube?

25:29Yeah, Westside Gun, Method Man, Scarface, Freddie Gibbs,

25:32Stove Goldcook, Westside Gun.

25:35I mean, Rock Marciano.

25:37Like these are my heroes.

25:39I pinch myself because hip hop raised me.

25:42So, yeah.

25:43Yeah.

25:44I love it.

25:45I love it.

25:46Wait till my rap album comes out.

25:49You'll love it.

25:50I bet I'll do the cover for you.

25:52Please.

25:54People wander around the partition to watch the artists work.

25:57Miranda.

25:58Okay.

25:59We are halfway.

26:01Two hours to go.

26:04Natasha lets out a breath as she starts applying darker shades to her portrait of Amanda.

26:10Is that information filling you with horror?

26:13You could fly to the Gold Coast in that time.

26:16Matt slowly slips off his sneakers.

26:21Am I allowed to have taken my shoes off?

26:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.

26:26I'll let these little puppies roam.

26:29Get the donuts on screen.

26:32He's wearing donut socks.

26:35How are you going mate?

26:36I'm good.

26:37Look, to be fair I had to take the shoes off.

26:40Did you get permission or her?

26:41I wasn't sure actually.

26:43I didn't want to throw anyone out of whack.

26:44No one got their erasers out yet.

26:47Have you been writing jokes in the time down?

26:49It's actually the opposite.

26:50This is my worry time.

26:52I might be moving house so I'm actually mentally Marie Kondo-ing in my head right now.

27:01If I lived in the same state as you I'd probably ask if you wanted help moving.

27:05Thankfully we don't.

27:06Do you?

27:09Sandia's portrait of Matt's coming together.

27:12It's full of earthy shades and wide brush strokes.

27:15Hi Sandia.

27:16It looks to me like you're capturing a really great sense of proportion fairly freehand.

27:22You haven't mapped it out with grids or anything like that.

27:24No, I'm trying off late I've been trying freehand.

27:27Yes.

27:28But I'm happy that if it's working it's good.

27:31Sandia Mohan Padna is an IT professional studying at the Melbourne Art Academy.

27:38Her self-portrait is a poignant depiction of a significant year representing her return

27:43to art, the arrival of her son and the passing of her mother.

27:48We heard that lovely story about the mug which connects into his family and his mother.

27:52I lost my mom as well.

27:53Okay.

27:54And I know that feeling that what he was trying to explain.

27:56You know that missing feeling plus all the good memories from childhood.

28:00Yeah.

28:01So I can very well relate to what he explained.

28:04I'm hoping to capture exactly the same.

28:07That's wonderful.

28:08For me this is almost like a personal painting.

28:10Yes.

28:12She's including the mug in her painting as well.

28:15Chatting to Madison, Abdul points at her gold medal.

28:20This is freaking cool.

28:22Yeah, that's awesome.

28:23It's really heavy if you want to pick it up a little bit.

28:25Can I?

28:26Is that, I don't want to like, is that, as soon as I saw it I've been wanting to pick it up.

28:29No, you want to touch it?

28:30Yes.

28:31Oh.

28:32Yeah, that is heavy.

28:34Yeah.

28:35Wish I brought my phone.

28:36We'll do it at some point.

28:37Yeah, that is.

28:38That is.

28:39That is.

28:40That's so good.

28:43Alison looks like she's struggling.

28:46I'm going to find the local colour there.

28:49What is it?

28:50It's not, that's not right.

28:54It's so hard.

28:55I don't think I've got the likeness and it's really annoying.

29:00I'm getting really upset that I don't, like I know it's not right, so I just have to keep

29:06looking.

29:07Alison Smith recently transitioned from a career in graphic design to fine art.

29:13Her self portrait explores themes of identity and perception, reflecting her experience as

29:20an adopted person.

29:22So Alison, I've got so many questions.

29:25I haven't seen anyone paint on a mirror before.

29:28Yeah, it's just something that's kind of evolved over time.

29:31But for me, it's not always about the mirror, it's about the surface, because it's really

29:35slippery, because I'm really gestural.

29:37It makes it really easy for me to move the paint around in a more sculptural kind of like form.

29:42With your other paintings that you're doing, and paintings that are similar to this,

29:46how long do they take you normally?

29:48I'm quite comfortable in the four hour time zone.

29:51Four hours easy?

29:52Yeah.

29:53Well, not easy.

29:54Not easy, not easy.

29:55Okay.

29:56I feel like nowhere near where it's got to go to, so we're on a journey.

29:59Okay, fantastic.

30:00I can't wait to see where it goes.

30:01Me either.

30:03Jenna.

30:04I know.

30:05The time is moving way faster than I would like it to, but finish the face to a degree.

30:11I'll still go in and add darker and lighter parts as I go along.

30:16But the face is done.

30:18I think it looks pretty spot iron.

30:21Got the five o'clock shadow and everything.

30:23Amanda laughs.

30:26Hello, Amanda.

30:27Hello, Luke.

30:28Your bear, Peter, you brought in today as your first toy.

30:32Oh, the first toy I remember, that's right.

30:35Peter.

30:36Peter the panda.

30:37I don't like my kids to touch any of the childhood toys.

30:39I'm really scared they'll break.

30:40They're all these transformers, I'm worried they'll...

30:41Oh, really?

30:42Yeah.

30:43Do you let your kids play with them growing up?

30:45See, there's not much damage you can do to Peter, obviously, that Mange hasn't already done.

30:48He doesn't transform.

30:49He doesn't transform into anything apart from a bad smell.

30:51No, I haven't deliberately kept him away from them, but there's not much in him that two

30:56small boys would have been interested in.

30:58He was never more exciting than he is now.

31:01No, and yet he was everything.

31:02They were simpler times, weren't they?

31:04Yes.

31:05Thanks, Amanda.

31:06Okay, thanks, Luke.

31:07If anyone needs me, I'll be here.

31:12Full focus now.

31:13The artists work faster to complete their portraits.

31:16Luke.

31:17Artists, we have one hour to go.

31:22Alison sucks in a deep breath and shakes her head.

31:27Yeah.

31:28Team up.

31:30Team up.

31:31Team up.

31:32Team up.

31:33Are you keeping that piece of tape on your beard for a reason?

31:38I need to do some cap, but I don't think I'll get to it, so I just get a little bit of expression

31:47in here.

31:49Alison.

31:50I don't think I'm ever going to be feeling confident.

31:55Like, painting is like a battle, so I don't know who's winning.

32:00Oh, I've got heaps of time.

32:02Yeah, you've got heaps of time.

32:03You can do your hands if you want.

32:06Yeah, I know.

32:07Or just the background, whatever you want to do.

32:09I know.

32:10I just...

32:11Aved and his wife step back from his painting.

32:14You know, see on that Tokyo thing, right?

32:18See that logo, that red, blue and green?

32:21Yep.

32:22Is that Tokyo?

32:23That's our Paralympic logo, so it's our Olympic rings equivalent for the Paralympics.

32:28Oh.

32:29Yeah, it's called the Agitos.

32:31So if I were to paint that in...

32:33Yeah.

32:34...people instantly know what it is.

32:36Yeah.

32:37See, there's a logo.

32:39That's the Paralympic rings.

32:41Oh.

32:44You want to put it in the background somehow?

32:46Well, there's one to be sort of like a bit of a slashy kind of almost a bit...

32:50A bit gestural.

32:51Yeah.

32:52Aved adds in the red, blue and green slashes of the logo in the background.

32:59Hello, Madison.

33:00Hello.

33:01How are you going?

33:02Good.

33:03Have you been painted before?

33:05I have, but not with this kind of intensity.

33:07No.

33:08Not with the audience and cameras.

33:09No, none of that.

33:10Has the scrutiny you get on the track helped you with just having three people constantly

33:15like look at you and then go back and paint?

33:17Has that made it easier?

33:18No, it certainly has.

33:19Usually I'm not like looking right back as it happens, to be honest.

33:22Yeah.

33:23Even if you don't like something, are you good at pretending that you love it or...?

33:25No.

33:26No.

33:27No, I feel like it's all on here the whole time, unfortunately.

33:30Gotcha.

33:31Gotcha.

33:32In sped up time lapse, people and crew move around the triple partition, with each celebrity

33:37sitting in front of a different multi-coloured wall.

33:40Artists, you have ten minutes.

33:44Cece checks her watch and wafts air on her face.

33:47Does anyone need anything from me?

33:49The last ten?

33:50Any poses, faces?

33:52Pretty much on time, I mean, there's things that I wish I could get to, like a little bit

33:59more detailed, but overall I'm just glad that I got the most of the face.

34:05It's debatable how much I've got to go.

34:08The stress levels are too high, so everything feels like, ah, a bit of panic.

34:15Avett applies the finishing touches.

34:18Time just to put the cherry on top.

34:23It's definitely to crunch and I'm doing the detail, but go on with it.

34:27It's going to happen.

34:28As long as we finish.

34:30Lucky applies more tape to Matt's face.

34:33Daniel works on Amanda's stuffed panda toy and Cece's painting is bursting with colour.

34:38Artists, your time is up.

34:41Please step away from your easels.

34:45Well done, lady.

34:46Oh my god!

34:49Oh, I'm so happy.

34:50You're very well.

34:52The artists check each other's paintings.

34:55I don't think I have any blood left in my wrist.

35:00Miranda.

35:01Before the judges choose today's winner to progress to the semi-final,

35:05the sitters will each get to pick their favourite portrait to take home.

35:09Amanda, thank you for your patience.

35:12It is now time for you to look at the art.

35:15Artists, can you please turn your easels around?

35:19Amanda's jaw drops and her eyebrows raise as she sees the paintings for the first time.

35:26All three paintings have Amanda in profile with lots of colour.

35:35With a miniature, realistic Amanda poking out of the gap in the wood plank, Jenna's stands out.

35:41Can I have a closer look?

35:43Can I have a closer look?

35:44Yeah, yeah, go for it.

35:45Everyone had such different techniques.

35:47I had no idea.

35:50Daniel's portrait.

35:52I couldn't see what your arms were doing.

35:54Look at the colours.

35:56And Peter the panda.

35:58Oh, wow.

36:02I just love it.

36:03And thank you for giving me luxuriant hair.

36:06Daniel, thank you.

36:09Amanda looks at Jenna's painting.

36:11You have done an entire portrait with brushes smaller than the ones I use for my eyeliner.

36:19There's something secretive and wise about it.

36:23I don't know how you've managed that.

36:27I look like the elder woman of some kind of tribe.

36:31And I had no idea what you were doing, Natasha, because you were wiping big things.

36:36Look at the skin tones.

36:41It's just beautiful.

36:43Oh, thank you.

36:45Amanda, I'm so sorry, but you have to now...

36:47Oh, no, don't make me.

36:48Don't make me.

36:49Pick one person.

36:50I'm sorry.

36:53I see myself in all of them.

36:55And this is so much more than I possibly imagined.

37:00Jenna, I'm going with you.

37:05A jubilant Gemma covers her face.

37:09These are beautiful.

37:10Congratulations, everybody.

37:13Everyone claps each other.

37:16Matt, I've got good news.

37:19You can move around.

37:20Okay.

37:21You can change poses.

37:22You can do whatever you need.

37:23Shake the hair out.

37:26Alright, calm down, guys.

37:30Well, Artis, do you mind turning around your easels, please?

37:36Blair, Lucky and Sandia turn their paintings around.

37:39And Matt claps.

37:43Blair's painting is an impressionist mix of earthy colours.

37:47Lucky's tape portrait is a black and green pop art piece.

37:50And Sandia's has a calm-looking matte,

37:52blending into a warm orangey-yellow background.

37:55I love the shimmer of this one.

37:57This is like...

37:58The colours are so strong here and so uniform.

38:03Yep, that's great.

38:04And I like the shading around my beard...

38:07...area.

38:08This is definitely the most unique.

38:11It's really incredible.

38:14Lucky's tape portrait.

38:16With the tape.

38:17I can't believe that this is made out of tape.

38:21Amazing stuff.

38:22And the hand is like so...

38:24That's...

38:25That's my big...

38:27...lanky hand.

38:29Right there.

38:31Blair's piece.

38:33And this is really, really amazing.

38:36I think it really captures that...

38:38That feeling of...

38:40That happy-sad and the nostalgia that I think of whenever I look at that mug.

38:45He's looking down at the mug with his eyes half closed.

38:47So if I had to choose one...

38:52I'm going to be choosing Blair's portrait.

38:57It is...

38:59So amazing.

39:00Thank you so much.

39:05Blair smiles proudly as the other artists cheer her on.

39:10Madison, how are you feeling?

39:12God, I'm so nervous to see them all.

39:14I don't know why I'm nervous.

39:15These guys have been painting for four hours.

39:17I'm so excited.

39:18Okay, artists.

39:19Turn your easels.

39:23Cece, Alison and Avett show Madison their portraits.

39:30Madison beams as she takes in the three very different paintings.

39:36These are unreal, guys.

39:38I feel like there is something in every single one of them that resonates.

39:43Like you've all captured something like entirely different, if that makes sense.

39:49I feel like this is what I get seen as like the most.

39:52Avett's painting.

39:54As an athlete is kind of that calm, kind of serious, intense peacefulness.

40:00This one resonates a lot.

40:02It's almost like...

40:03I feel like you've just seen me sitting for four hours, slowly losing my mind with restlessness.

40:08And it's like, when you're kind of like alone with your own thoughts and who you are,

40:11when no one else is kind of around, that feels very much...

40:14Alison's painting is made up of shades of grey with pink highlights.

40:18This is so hard. How could... I don't know how you possibly...

40:21I feel like you have the best outlook on life.

40:25I feel like you see in other people, I think, what we all see in you, to be honest.

40:31Every time I looked over at you while you were painting, it was just the most, like, incredible energy that you had.

40:36You were in your own world, but...

40:38And it all shows right there.

40:41A beaming Madison's resting on a bed of sunflowers in Cece's painting.

40:46What are you going to go with?

40:48I don't know how to do this.

40:52I think every now and again you kind of come across someone that sees something in you that not everyone necessarily does.

40:58I think I'm going to go with yours.

41:04A joyous Cece covers her mouth.

41:08Can I give you a hug?

41:11They share a tearful hug.

41:17You're so beautiful.

41:20Cece wipes away tears.

41:22Now the sitters have chosen their favourite artworks, it's up to the judges to evaluate today's nine portraits and choose one artist to go through to the semi-final.

41:35The three paintings of Amanda, I think, are really, really strong and all of quite different styles, starting with Daniel's.

41:41Now Daniel has worked very hard and there's some really cool passages of painting.

41:46Possibly my favourite thing in this pod is this.

41:51Peter, look at this sad panda.

41:54It's just...

41:56Fantastic.

41:58So extraordinary.

41:59She's really winning the show but this painting isn't about Peter, it's about Amanda and so unfortunately I think we're going to have to judge it on that likeness of Amanda and it does fall down.

42:09Natasha was worried about time but now that I see this finished work, I think there's a really lovely sadness that's coming through in the eyes there.

42:18There's some soul in those eyes that I really love.

42:22For me this feels like a sketch.

42:23For me she feels like, you know, this is a, if you were going to go in and you had a portrait commission, this is the kind of likeness you would take in a first study.

42:31It doesn't feel like a resolved composition.

42:35Then how do we feel about Jenna?

42:40Jenna has done something quite extraordinary.

42:42Her style is a realist style, it's extremely exacting, she's working with tiny brushes and this is something that would normally take many, many hours to achieve.

42:55It's a simple composition, it's a simple background but with the four hours she's done an amazing job I think.

43:02We have three portraits of Matt.

43:06Let's start with Sandia's painting.

43:08Sandia's looks a bit incomplete.

43:09These passages of paint in here, that face, I think that's really beautiful.

43:14Yes.

43:15But it is absolutely hurried.

43:17This is really a ten hour painting.

43:19Mmm.

43:20She just needed more time.

43:22Lucky is a really different kind of artist for us to look at.

43:25Mmm.

43:27There's definite eccentricity here.

43:29In fact my favourite part of it is the hand.

43:31There's something about the drawing of the hand that I find really charming and expressive.

43:35I think this is a very, very fun image.

43:36And I think it says something about Matt that the other two don't.

43:40Matt looks the most playful in Lucky's.

43:43I have to say I'm very impressed with what Blair has managed to achieve.

43:47What I really love in the storytelling of this one is Matt talked early on about his name is Matthew.

43:53That's what's on this mug but now he's known as Matt.

43:56Whereas what Blair has done, you can see the map very front and centre but the H is there as well.

44:02So it's like a tiny little sweet nod to the transition from childhood to adulthood.

44:07Yes.

44:09Matt stares at his mug contemplatively.

44:10Now we're going to look at three portraits of the absolutely effervescent Madison.

44:15Mmm.

44:17Ava is a very confident hand.

44:19Has he captured her spirit?

44:20I don't think so.

44:21That's okay though.

44:22It's okay to have Madison in a moment of quiet contemplation.

44:26Really nice that he's included these colours referencing the rings of the Paralympics.

44:30I think we do see Madison the athlete in this.

44:34That steely determination and what it takes to win a gold medal.

44:40Alice has struggled to capture the lightness here though.

44:44I really like the colour and the line, the reflective surface coming through beneath.

44:50I find it quite compelling in some ways as a painting.

44:53But I think we can agree it really just isn't Madison.

44:56Cece's painting.

44:57Immediately we can see that Cece has captured that effervescence.

45:04It is such a lovely, light, joyous representation.

45:10I still think that we're sitting very close to the line of caricature here.

45:16I would have liked there to be a little bit of counterbalance in this.

45:19The sweetness and sourness that you need from a really compelling work of art.

45:22I agree.

45:24There's a sun in the corner of Cece's painting.

45:27Now the old metal chimney and steel lattice work of the power station.

45:32Congratulations.

45:34You survived the day and created an incredible variety of work.

45:38The judges have looked over your portraits and have chosen their top three.

45:43And the first artist is...

45:49Jenna.

45:50Jenna.

45:51Jenna's deliriously happy.

45:52Jenna's deliriously happy.

45:54She bends over in shock as Cece celebrates her.

46:03The second artist is...

46:07Blair.

46:08Natasha hugs the shocked-looking Blair.

46:14And the final artist to be shortlisted is...

46:19Avett.

46:24Avett claps with red cheeks.

46:27It's night time now.

46:28It's time for the artist to discover who will have the chance to paint a life-changing commission to hang in the National Portrait Gallery.

46:43The artist selected to go into the semi-final has created a very well-planned painting with a strong likeness and a very impressive degree of finish.

46:56And that artist is...

47:02Jenna.

47:03Jenna.

47:05Jenna hunches over.

47:07Jenna!

47:08Jenna!

47:10Congratulations!

47:18What we saw from Jenna today was incredibly impressive.

47:22Her technique was impeccable.

47:24This is an artist who's early on in her career and what she is producing is such refinement in her line, her technique.

47:31To be through to the semi-final is insane.

47:34To be picked in the people that even got to be a part of this is insane.

47:38So to be through to the next round, never thought it would be possible.

47:41This is crazy.

47:43Sped up time-lapse shows Jenna's portrait coming together, from the line work on a grid to filling in the colours and background of her painting of Amanda on wood.

47:52Next time, in the final heat of the competition, nine artists will get the chance to paint three very different celebrities.

48:00Frank Finger and his champion muster dog, Annie!

48:06I know she'll be a good girl and stay still, but what about you?

48:09Oh, I think I'll be alright.

48:11Please welcome Chloe Hayden.

48:13How honest will you be with your feedback at the end?

48:16Stay tuned.

48:18Alex Lee!

48:22What if they see something in me that I've been trying to keep hidden?

48:26So...

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