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00:00Artists from all over Australia have traveled to Sydney's White Bay Power Station to compete
00:09for the ultimate prize. Today I'm swimming in adrenaline. I'm just excited. A life-changing
00:15commission to hang in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Last time Jenna Pickering's
00:22intricately detailed painting of Amanda Keller was a standout. Jenna has done something quite
00:29extraordinary. This is something that would normally take many many hours to achieve.
00:35Jenna. Now in the final heat of the competition nine artists will get the chance to paint three
00:45very different celebrities. Frank Finger and his champion muster dog Annie. I know she'll be a good
00:54girl and stay still but what about you? Oh I think I'll be right. Please welcome Chloe Hayden.
01:00How honest will you be with your feedback at the end? Stay tuned. Alex Lee!
01:09What if they see something in me that I've been trying to keep hidden?
01:13So who will have what it takes? It's a lovely face, it's a lovely likeness and I think it feels
01:19like quite a finished work. To claim the last spot. That's rubbish. In the semi-final.
01:27Oh my god!
01:31If the moustache starts going sideways just tell me and I'll fix it straight away.
01:54There's a buzz in the air as six professional and three amateur artists set up for one of the most
02:02important paints of their lives. I'm so excited. I just hope I don't get, you know, starstruck in it.
02:09Each artist submitted a self-portrait that earned their place in our last heat.
02:16Judging their work are Robert Wellington, Associate Professor of Art History at the Australian National
02:24University, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Brie Pickering and award-winning
02:31multi-disciplinary artist, Abdul Abdullah.
02:33Today we have got artists from all over Australia. This first one is Anna Karin who is an award-winning
02:43artist from South Africa who now resides in New South Wales. Anna Karin talks about motherhood
02:49as being very important to her identity. She has three children. This is not what a mother looks like
02:55ever. So this is definitely... This has not been my experience with kids, no. This is definitely
03:00an inner world's work and I think she's captured that in a lovely way, sort of how she might view herself
03:08when she is at peace. This is Tony who was an award-winning graphic designer and has just started
03:16painting five years ago. It's an impressionist style. It comes from that sort of French school
03:21of impressionist painting of the late 19th century. Impressionists were trying to capture what they saw
03:25before them but not in a realist sense, more in a sense of literally an impression of the atmosphere
03:33and the fleeting states and it's the kind of thing you can do quite quickly with a practiced hand.
03:38Tony's going to be someone who could do well in this composition for that reason.
03:43Tara is our youngest artist today at 21 and she is from my hometown Tasmania. There are amazing levels
03:50of finish. The lemons themselves, the texture on the skin is really fantastic. There's a lot to enjoy
03:55but I just can't get past how fabulous this signature is. She's put a crown on her tee. What a boss move.
04:05Ruben is a large-scale muralist. I like how his left section is unfinished but it's considered
04:12like the scissor lift, the way that it fades out at the bottom. It's not an accidental thing,
04:17it's a very deliberate application of paint to suggest something without going into fine detail.
04:22This is Marco who is a former baker turned full-time artist. It's a small canvas, very
04:29interesting placement. You can see that he's concentrated on the face. It feels very idiosyncratic.
04:34There is an unfinished to this painting but it doesn't feel unfinished.
04:40Julianne is a former ballerina much like myself. Robert, I think you're going to love this. You love
04:46birds. You're a bird man. I am a bird man. I'm also a gardener so I'm going to get in and point out
04:51what's going on here. One of my favourite birds of course, the Australian magpie. We've got a wagtail,
04:57we've got a fairy wren here but then all of the flowers of an Australian garden too. This is an
05:02Australiana portrait and I absolutely love all the plant and animal detail here. Cheryl is a fashion
05:10designer from Queensland. Now I know we all look for different things in portraiture and in art in
05:15general but if I was to Marie Kondo my life and only keep the things that bring me joy I would keep
05:20this painting because it's giving me joy. She is bringing all of the joy of beauty and fashion and
05:27makeup. I love that Cheryl is leaning in and saying I am a glamorous beautiful woman and I'm here.
05:38Tim from South Australia who is a full-time artist and this portrait is a nod to his love of basketball.
05:44When I see this picture I see a certain kind of masculinity and something that speaks quite
05:49strongly to the Australian experience of masculinity. Art is for everybody and this sort of masculine
05:56culture that we might assume is quite separate from the world of art is very much part of it in
06:02this painting and that's what I enjoy. This is Anne from WA who is actually a courtroom sketch artist.
06:10I think that her skills as a court drawer is kind of apply really well to the competition. In this work
06:16there's a lot of lovely detail so I think she's taken quite a bit more time with this portrait than
06:22she would in the courtroom. If we're expecting this and what we get is courtroom it might not get her over
06:29the line. We certainly don't want her to paint her sitter looking like they're in the dock on trial do
06:34we? Depends on the sitter. Our artists are split into three groups of three.
06:42They have just four hours to paint their celebrity sitter. The sitters have each brought in a special item
06:50to give the artists an insight into their personality. My yuppie Cavuto would benefit a lot from this guest.
06:57This Claremont cattle grazer and his working dog Kelpie stole the hearts of the nation with ABC's hit
07:05Mustard Dogs. Can you please welcome Frank Finger and his champion mustard dog Annie!
07:12Frank Finger how are you? Frank Finger how are you? This is lovely. Frank Ruben. Good Ruben how are you sir?
07:35Nice to meet you. Annie to me. Please take a seat. Annie up here mate. Oh nice.
07:47So Frank you've brought Annie in to be painted with you. Yes. I know she'll be a good girl and
07:53stay still but what about you? Oh I think I'll be right. Yeah yeah? Yeah. Have you ever been painted
07:59before? No. No? No. What are you expecting? Probably painting him an old man with a dog.
08:09This guest is an author, an actor, an influencer, a content creator, a motivational speaker,
08:16a disability rights activist. I feel like a lazy person now but you may know them best as Quinny
08:22from Heartbreak High. Please welcome Chloe Hayden. Hi nice to meet you. Hi Chloe nice to meet you.
08:40I have unmedicated ADHD so if I move I'm apologizing in advance. Please take a seat. Yes okay. Now Chloe
08:47you are someone with ADHD. I'm also someone with ADHD. Are you looking forward to sitting for four
08:52hours? Absolutely no. It's gonna be a fun challenge for all four of us. That's fine. Now you are publicly
08:59autistic. I also found out recently that I'm autistic but you were diagnosed at a young age. Yes. When
09:06I was diagnosed as autistic I had first of all never heard the word before and my parents had only heard
09:12the word in the context of Rain Man and what's eating Gilbert Grape. So as a 13 year old girl wanting
09:19to fit in I thought that autism was a death sentence and now I'm 27 and autism is my biggest superpower.
09:31Amazing. And do you mind telling us about your personal item? I have two buckles here. I've got this
09:36one here and this one here and I do a sport called extreme cowboys. The best way that I can explain it
09:43is you know like agility trials for dogs? Yeah yeah yeah. It's that but it's on horseback. And love of
09:49horses? Was that from a young age as well? Always. I was selectively mute for my entire life except when I
09:56was with my horses. I would talk and talk and talk to them because I'd learned really early on that people
10:03lied and didn't show their true face. Not in showbiz though we're a very honest bunch. Oh absolutely.
10:10All the showbiz is also autistic ADHD. That's true.
10:15Now I would not want to be roasted by this guest as I would be absolutely charred.
10:20She is a comedian, tv presenter and writer. You've seen her on Question Everything, the checkout
10:27and the project. She also hosts a Dungeons and Dragons podcast so don't let her popular girl looks fool you.
10:34Can you please welcome Colossal Nerd Alex Lee?
10:46Hello. Hi. How are you going? I'm Alex.
10:52Nice to meet you. Hi. Nice to meet you. Hi Anne. Hi. Hi Alex. I'm Marco. Nice to meet you.
11:04Hi everyone. Come take a seat. Come and sit down. How exciting. Oh my goodness.
11:11Now what have you brought for us today? This is like a box of treasures that I've basically
11:17collected when I was a kid. We've got a two dollar note which is cool. I mean Sydney Olympic ticket to
11:23the volleyball. Happiest day of my life. There's a mould of my teeth. They've probably hidden it
11:29because they thought I wouldn't want to talk about it but actually I do. That? Look at this.
11:37How old were you when you got this? I think I was like in year eight when I got braces. So yeah this is
11:42a bit of behind the scenes of the making of my TV smile. Just a little special part of all the things
11:48that made this little weirdo who she is today I guess. It's fabulous. Give a round of applause for Alex Lee.
12:06Artist your challenge is about to begin. You have four hours to create your
12:11portraits and your time starts. Now.
12:20It's not to me she added. Good to you too. Do you mind if I take some photos? Of course.
12:25Can you set your head up a little bit? Wonderful. Thank you so much.
12:31With only one spot in the semi-final up for grabs the pressure is on to create a portrait that
12:38demonstrates the artist's technical and artistic prowess.
12:43Okay now I can start. How the artists choose to capture their subjects
12:48and if they include the sitter's special item is up to them.
12:54Head straight please just over a little. Thank you. Thanks. I'm being fussy about the
13:00direction because sometimes there'll be a line that's not there. Of course. Yeah yeah yeah.
13:06Especially with the shadows and the hat. Yeah. Do you ever think about not bringing a hat?
13:12Sorry man. Goes with the fit. Yeah. At 50 Tony Erickson traded a successful career in graphic design for
13:21his true passion. Painting. His submission is typical of his rough and impressionistic style
13:27and was painted in less than an hour. You made a strong start here. You've got quite a lot of
13:34paint on the board already. Yep. Can you tell me a little bit about your process? How do you get started?
13:38Well just a good old-fashioned charcoal sketch. Yeah. Then block it in. Yep. Gets really ugly for a while.
13:45And then it comes back again. It's a bit magical when that likeness just starts to come in. You're a
13:54fast painter. Is there a risk that you might finish early today? Yes. It'll get to a point. It always
14:00does where I think you're not doing it any good. Just step away. So we'll see if we get there. I can't
14:07wait to see what happens. Cool. There you go. Thanks.
14:20Oh. Wrong size. It's going to be too small.
14:28So I started drawing and then I realised it's going to be too small and it's not going to make an
14:33interesting painting. So I'd rather start in the beginning over than not be able to fix it at the
14:39end. Mother of three, Anna Karen Goosen, recently moved to Australia from South Africa. With her
14:46boys now grown up, she has returned to art with renewed vigour. Her submission was painted in oils.
14:52Its use of geometry, a nod towards cubism. Anna Karen, you've done this for quite a while.
14:59I've done it for a long time but it's the first time I've been put on the spot to do it live
15:06and in such a short time. Because this is four hours, there's no moment for you just to see what
15:15you've done wrong. So you like to work for a couple of hours, go away, come back and look at it?
15:20It's also the reality of my life. I'm still a mum and I have other things to do.
15:26I think like most working mums, you're juggling trying to get everything done. People love saying
15:33you can't be an artist and a parent but you can. It's hard but it has its perks because you can have
15:41a sick child sleeping at your easel. I love a good stranger sketch. Yes. But having permission to
15:53do so, it's a bit better than sketching someone on the bus who's a bit cross with you.
15:59Ann Barnetson is a courtroom sketch artist who has drawn a number of high profile individuals on trial.
16:06Her self-portrait was painted in nine hours using watercolour, ink and gouache on paper.
16:13I am. Hello. So you're working pretty fast. You've done this one already.
16:19Yeah, just did a quick sketch to sort of a bit loosey-goosey bit, warm myself up a little bit.
16:25This is the technique I tend to use when I'm doing court sketches. So I'll do the sketch in a good old
16:31ballpoint biro pen and then I'll wash over the top of it. Yeah, it's biro. Amazing. What are you
16:36trying to capture about her today that was like the most important thing for you? A, I wanted to
16:40capture the outfit. B, just the pose and the body language. I'm loving the detail of the coffee cup
16:45under the, under the chair. Is that going to make it through to the end either? I think so, yes.
17:05So I'm really curious, Chloe, how did you get into acting? Um, I've always wanted to be an actor but
17:12I grew up rural. Me too. So the only kind of opportunities were community theatre and stuff
17:18like that. Yeah. But 15, 16 was when I was like really trying to get into it as a career and then
17:25got my agent the day I graduated uni. That's amazing. Yeah. 21 year old Tara Royal comes from a family of
17:33artists and has painted since she can remember. The youngest artist in today's heat, Tara's self-portrait
17:40painted in acrylics took her over 20 hours to complete. Hi there, Tara. Now you're working in
17:47watercolour on paper today. Yeah, it's on paper. So what are you hoping to capture of Chloe? Well,
17:53she's, she's got beautiful features and she's gorgeous and I really like the pose of her just
17:58like looking up towards the light because it's like she's, you know, staring off to her bright future.
18:03That's a really, that is a really beautiful picture. Thank you. Do you think you'll find a
18:07way to bring in some of this Western material? Well, that's what I'm hoping with the hat,
18:11but I might. Ah, the hat might just finish at the top there. Yeah. I can really see some likeness
18:15coming through, but you've chosen that small scale. So I think it's going to be how can you,
18:20you know, in four hours, put as much as you can into that to really show us your skills. Yeah.
18:24That's wonderful. Thanks, Tara. Thank you.
18:26Artists, that's one hour down. What is that? The first hour? Shit.
18:47Sitting is a lot harder than I expected.
18:49So we are well into today's paint now. Chloe's pod, Tony. I know he's already an award-winning
18:56graphic designer. How's he going? Yeah. Look, Tony's made a flying start. Tony's aware that he's a
19:01fast painter and the problem for him is going to be knowing when to stop. I suppose my only concern
19:07for Tony is that he's making a fast study. Is it a finished work of art? Tara is our youngest
19:14painter today. How's she going? Tara is working well. My concern is that working on that scale
19:21just isn't going to be ambitious enough, and it doesn't leave enough space for all of that
19:24wonderful Western regalia. Frank's pod seems unfair to me because there are two subjects they have to
19:29paint. Now, Anna Karen did have a little meltdown this morning, and I believe that she had to scrap
19:36her first attempt and start again. However, she went straight in and did a really lovely study of
19:41Annie the dog, and the work that I'm seeing at the moment shows me that she's a real contender.
19:46Julianne is already an award-winning artist. How is she far in the competition? She's doing some
19:50really interesting work with scoring into the wooden plane and then working over that too. I see some
19:57gum leaves. I saw some wattle leaves. It's a charming picture. We've got Ann, who is a courtroom sketch
20:04artist. The detail that she's brought in at the moment is promising. She's got a full body composition,
20:09and she's brought in some incidental details that make for quite an interesting picture.
20:13Marko, former baker. Is he doing well in the competition so far?
20:18He's concentrated on the face. Now, we saw that with his self-portrait too. That's part of his feature.
20:23He will hone in and work up the face as part of the portrait, and then the background will develop
20:29in a different way. And we haven't seen anything in the background yet, but it's too early to tell for
20:33Marko, if I'm honest. So let's wait and see. Hope you'll get the massive pimple in between my eyes
20:39that I woke up with this morning. Don't worry, I'm editing it out. Marko Ruby Piper is a successful
20:47full-time artist who has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions. His submission,
20:54Painted in Oils, was completed using a limited palette of only four colours. Hey, Marko. Hey, how are you?
21:00Really well. Tell me about how you're going. I'm getting there. I, um, initially I was stressed
21:07because I think I wanted to get the lightness a bit quicker, but now I'm feeling better. Okay. And
21:13what is it about Alex that you wanted to make sure was really coming through in this portrait? I'm just
21:18going to try to get a good representation of what she looks like. She's got a great face, so try not to
21:23ruin it, you know. I'll leave you to it then, Marko. Thank you so much.
21:30Frank, what's the name of your property? Hillview. Hillview. Do you, do you have
21:42kookaburras in your property? Yes, we do. We do? Certainly do. Okay, so I can get a kookaburra in.
21:47Yeah. Okay. Julianne Ross Alcorn credits her creativity to growing up in Papua New Guinea,
21:54where she developed a deep appreciation for the natural world. Her self-portrait, painted with
22:00pencil and watercolours on birch wood panels, was created on her veranda, inspired by the sounds of
22:07the bush. Hey Julianne, I've seen your work before at the Archibald. Yeah. Yeah, really,
22:14really beautiful painting. Thank you. And I love how you're doing Annie. You can really see that
22:19connection between Annie and Frank. I'm also really interested on a technical level and how you've
22:24done the fur. So you have scratched into that one? Yeah, scratching. Yeah. That's fantastic. And I mean,
22:28really once you put it down, that's it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's a one-way street. One-way street.
22:33You've just got to work with it. And if it goes wrong, put a leaf over it.
22:47Mum. Hmm? I think you need to move that eye a little bit. I think it's slightly too high.
22:55Dunk in my skirt. No worries. Love you. I love you.
22:59Yeah. Hi, Annie Cheryl. Oh. You're a fashion designer. Oh, look at that. And your stuff's been
23:08on the runway in Milan. Oh, you found out. Honestly, that's so deadly.
23:14Cheryl Creed was an artist who was drawn into the world of fashion,
23:18where she established herself as an haute couture designer. Her self-portrait marks
23:24Cheryl's return to painting after a 10-year hiatus.
23:31So where are your mob from, Aunt? From up Townsville, from out Mitchell,
23:35Straitbrook, so yeah. Oh, you're a proper Murray.
23:38I'm all the way around there. I own Queensland.
23:41What were you painting before you did fashion? Portraits. I wanted to, you know,
23:45paint our mob and that. Why is it so important for you to paint mob?
23:49Look, I think when you do a portrait of somebody, you know, it's really personal.
23:54Yeah. And, you know, if you've got your own mob doing it, because, you know, a long time ago,
23:57we used to think, oh, to do a portrait, only that was, you know, it wasn't for us, you know.
24:03Yeah, and so I can paint somebody and make them happy and, you know, keep our images there and...
24:08Remember the ones that have gone, eh? Yeah.
24:11Yeah. Well, I'll let you focus.
24:13Oh, thanks for coming over and talking. I'm so glad you're here too.
24:16I'm so glad I got you out of gear.
24:22Would she be able to look like here, Frank? Annie, look, look. Annie, look, look.
24:28She's got jet lag.
24:33I usually am painting sort of large-scale works. That's sort of my day-to-day gig. So,
24:38it's a paint down to smaller scale. It's definitely a bit of a change.
24:42Reuben Bortwood discovered art at 16 when he was forced to spend nine months at home recovering
24:49from a serious rugby injury. His self-portrait was painted in acrylic and aerosol on board and canvas.
24:55How have you found going from super big in a mural down to canvas size?
25:00Like, smaller canvases take me longer than, like, you know, a 10-metre by, like, an 8-metre wall.
25:06It's just a different way of, like, working and then layering up. It's a different process.
25:11And I've got to ask, you don't have Annie in the picture?
25:15Might, depending on how I'm going, I want to, like, kind of, you know, get something I'm stoked
25:20for you and then, uh, perhaps add Annie in later. Yeah.
25:24I'll leave you to it.
25:24It's free, bro. Thank you. I'll chip away.
25:35Mix, mix, mix, mix, mix.
25:38Hello, Alex.
25:39Hello, hello. I've been desperate for someone to talk to.
25:42Are you sorry? Please.
25:43How are you going with it?
25:45Look, it's been a test to be here with my own thoughts for four hours.
25:50I've come to a dark place.
25:51I've come out of it again.
25:53Have you been painted before?
25:55I've never been painted before.
25:56Ooh. Are you nervous to see?
25:58Are you excited?
26:00Yeah, both.
26:01You know, it can be quite a revealing sort of thing,
26:03especially just sitting there and I have so little control or say about how I am being perceived.
26:09Well, all three artists have drawn you riding a dragon, so I think you'll be happy.
26:13Yeah. Yeah.
26:17What did you say your eye colour was, Alex?
26:20It's got kind of like a greenie.
26:21It's a little bit of green in there.
26:22Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
26:24Yeah, I think I'm too brown.
26:27Tim Kristinat's love of art can be traced back to his grandmother,
26:31who inspired him to draw at a young age.
26:34He has gone on to become a successful painter, who has sold art both locally and abroad.
26:40In his self-portrait, Tim uses acrylics to achieve a high contrast finish.
26:46So talk me through this. This technique is interesting.
26:50It is. It is. It's an interesting point to come to as well.
26:55I've been a little bit stuck on the nose because I got it wrong.
26:57I think that your process, it's a little bit unforgiving, isn't it, if you make a mistake?
27:01It is a little bit, yeah.
27:02When you're building up the paint in the way that you're building it, how do you,
27:05yeah, how do you walk back when you're not happy with something?
27:08Because it's acrylic, it's going to dry quite quick, so obviously this is going to be too dark,
27:12but, like, I'll just kind of keep laying and laying and laying, so.
27:16And when are you going to attack the hair? Because hair can be quite tricky.
27:19Generally, the hair is probably the last thing I do.
27:21All right. So the hair will be a bit more abstract.
27:24Well, I look forward to seeing that hair in the end.
27:29Artists, you are two hours down. We are halfway through.
27:35Huh? What's all out of it?
27:44I'm going to do the other eye now. Can't procrastinate any longer.
27:47Oh, I'm so slow today.
27:52It's all right. It's beautiful.
27:55You've captured it. You've captured it.
27:57I don't feel like I have yet. I'm way behind schedule with time.
28:15I have mental.
28:17I'm going to go again.
28:20You're doing another one?
28:22From the start?
28:24Well, from the middle, it'd be better, but I'll have to start at the start.
28:28That's crazy.
28:29I'm just feeling like I was overworking the first one, so I have no idea what it's going
28:34to look like two hours from now. I'm just going to go as fast as I can,
28:38and it'll be rough, and I'll like it that way.
28:41Okay. As you were.
28:47So, Bree, there's a lot of creativity in the room today, even in the audience with people
28:51sketching and doodling and drawing, people talking about the works. There's a real vibe about the
28:56place, but let's turn our attention to the nine artists that have actually got to finish a painting
29:00today. Is there any that have stood out for you?
29:03I've been watching Marco quite closely, and I have to say, he's really pulling it together
29:09at the end. That painting is suddenly emerging from the canvas in a way that I thought it wasn't
29:14going to. Tony, he's on to portrait number two.
29:18I think that first one lost a little bit of a spark, and by going over it and over it,
29:23it started to become a little bit muddy and a little bit muted, so looking forward to seeing
29:28how he works under pressure. And then we've got Anna Karen, and I particularly like the
29:33way that she's painting Annie the dog. That dog is good, and I think she's got the relationship
29:38between Annie the dog and Frank in terms of composition. The other artist that's really
29:43captured Annie is Julianne, and I hadn't seen this in her self-portrait, but actually she's
29:49scratching into the wood to get that detail. She's using all sorts of different processes.
29:53I am quite enamored with this with this approach. I think we've got a really good painting.
30:00Artists, especially you, Tony, you have one hour to go.
30:07Sorry, Tony. Yeah, thanks. It's going fast.
30:13Hey, Mum. Do you think I should add more hair details, or should I leave it?
30:26I feel like I'm worried with the time now. I'm going to just darken it a little bit here.
30:33Hello, Chloe. Hello. How are you going sitting there for four hours?
30:37It's not my forte. I will tell you that much.
30:39Um, I am sorry to tell you that it's been extended for another four hours, too. Just
30:43at the end, it's a bit more time. Yeah, good.
30:45Good. Now, have you been painted before?
30:48I've been painted for Archibald a few times, which has been very cool.
30:53And, uh, how honest will you be with your feedback at the end?
30:57Stay tuned.
30:58So I'm trying to think, what can I do in the last hour? I think if I've got the dog in enough,
31:10now it's the overall.
31:12Frank, how are you going? You've been sitting there for quite a while now.
31:15Yeah, no, I'm fine.
31:16And Annie's going okay?
31:17Yeah, she's fine. She was having nightmares there before. She was asleep. She was, I suppose she
31:22thought she was out in the paddock mustering. She was studying.
31:25How are you finding the newfound fame that came because of the show? Like, it's so popular.
31:30I knew when I was doing it that it was going to be successful for some reason,
31:34but I just thought that that's what people would want.
31:36And I've always been trying to find for 30 years somewhere to get the message out
31:40on working dogs, what we do in the rural industry, and get kindness into it.
31:45There's two ways of training a dog. One's through fear and one's through kindness.
31:48When it's through kindness, they'll work their little heart out to get the cattle back to you.
31:52Yeah. Because it's just the bond, you know?
31:56Wow.
32:00Artists, you have 10 minutes to go.
32:02Oh.
32:03How many there, Alex? You've done so good.
32:10Eyes are a little too close together now. Is that a fixable thing?
32:13You've got 10 minutes.
32:13About 10 minutes.
32:14It is.
32:21Then the eyes were in the right place.
32:23They were, yeah.
32:25Yeah, why did I fiddle?
32:26I don't know.
32:30It's fear.
32:31Yeah, it is fear.
32:32Fear makes me fiddle.
32:36You'll get it.
32:43I like the first one a hell of a lot more, so just a few little tweaks and this will be the one.
32:57I like the first one.
33:09Artists, your time is up.
33:11Please step away from your easels.
33:13Thanks, Alex.
33:28Before the judges choose the last artist to go through to the semi-final,
33:33the sitters will get to pick their favourite portrait to take home.
33:37Hi, Chloe.
33:37Hello.
33:38Are you ready to give feedback to three artists to their faces?
33:43I'm ready to see the pictures.
33:49Artists, can you please turn around your easels?
33:53Oh, my gosh.
34:01Oh, my God!
34:06That is so beautiful, dude.
34:20It looks a lot like me.
34:22I also know how tricky it is to work with watercolour and the shadow and the detailing is beautiful.
34:29Wow.
34:30Oh, my God.
34:30You guys are so talented.
34:31What the heck?
34:33Oh, my gosh.
34:34Oh, my gosh.
34:36These are so cool.
34:38I don't have any fancy words to say.
34:40You guys are all so talented.
34:41What the heck?
34:42Oh, my God.
34:43These are all so sick, dude.
34:45This is so cool.
34:46The judges often say sick dude as well.
34:47Good.
34:48You're using the right terminology.
34:49All right, cool.
34:49I'm ready to be a judge for the next season.
34:51Um, this is the hard bit.
34:53Wow.
34:53You gotta, you gotta, you gotta pick one.
34:55Oh, my God.
35:01My favourite is the watercolour.
35:03Red glasses.
35:09I'm so glad.
35:11I love it.
35:12It's really beautiful.
35:18So, Alex, how do you feel?
35:20Nervous?
35:21Excited?
35:22Oh, I'm so excited.
35:25Okay, artist.
35:27Turn your easels.
35:35Wow.
35:37You're that incredible.
35:43Oh, my God.
35:47Hello, Alex.
35:48Hi, Marco.
35:48Oh, wow.
35:51Such beautiful colours.
35:52Oh, wow.
35:54Oh, you got my eyes really well.
35:57That's beautiful.
35:59There you are.
35:59Hi, Anna.
36:00Hello.
36:01Oh, there I am.
36:02There you are.
36:04Full length glory.
36:05Oh, yes.
36:06Yeah, because your first sketch was just my head, I think.
36:10And then you decided to do the full length.
36:11Oh, wow.
36:12Gotta get those shoes in.
36:15I love that you've captured so much from reality.
36:18Like how I can't keep my shoe on my foot and I was just flopping it around.
36:22It's really difficult, you know.
36:23Yeah.
36:25And the little coffee cup there that's amazing.
36:28Oh, wow.
36:30Tim, this is so amazing.
36:31I love how you've taken such a colourful background and just sucked all the colour out of it.
36:36Put me in this void.
36:38But it's beautiful.
36:40You can really just focus all the attention on my face.
36:43I love it.
36:44A lot of fun.
36:45Oh, you guys have done such an amazing job.
36:48So, Alex, now you have the incredibly difficult task of choosing one.
36:56I mean, I would love to take them all and just sort of have a whole room dedicated to,
37:01you know, gallery of me at home.
37:04But, you know, I think the one that captures my experience today.
37:10It's got to be Anne's.
37:12I've got me in all my glory there.
37:14I've just captured a very nice moment in my life.
37:17It's so good.
37:22They're all amazing.
37:30So, Frank, moment of truth.
37:32How are you feeling?
37:33Oh, nervous.
37:35I think they're going to be great.
37:39Artists, turn your easels.
37:41Holy moly.
38:02They're all so different.
38:04It's not what I expected.
38:06I thought I'd have three the same.
38:07They're all completely different.
38:12Nobody would mind if I put my glasses on.
38:18There's so much in there.
38:21She's got the sign and it says Hillview Finger Family since 1902.
38:28So, thanks for that.
38:28That's captured history.
38:35That's unusual.
38:36It looks like I fell over in a wheelbarrow.
38:41Maybe.
38:43Very relaxed.
38:45And Annie's relaxed.
38:46And that's what I want about the kindness that's got to come from the handler to the dog.
38:56It's like Ando.
38:59No doggo, Frank.
39:01Your face was enough for me.
39:03No, that's fine.
39:07Brilliant.
39:08Now, have I got to pick something?
39:09Have I?
39:10Have I?
39:11Can I dial a friend?
39:15Unfortunately, you can't.
39:17So, you have to pick one.
39:26Anna.
39:28Anna, a wheelbarrow.
39:33Doesn't that look relaxed?
39:41Yes.
39:42It does.
39:42You look incredibly...
39:43It's more relaxed than I've ever been alive.
39:45I don't know.
39:51While the artists enjoy some downtime, it's up to the judges to cast a critical eye over today's work
39:58and select a winner to go through to the semi-final.
40:01Time was not really a friend to our artists today.
40:05Everybody could have done with a few more hours.
40:07I would tend to agree.
40:09And we're looking now at the artists who've captured, Chloe.
40:14I do love the way Cheryl has over-exaggerated the hat.
40:18The hat was front and centre for Chloe today.
40:20Cheryl's really lent into that.
40:22I think you get a little bit of the energy coming through,
40:24although it's tending a little more cowgirl than Chloe.
40:27I think that's absolutely right.
40:28I love that oversized hat, but we just don't see Chloe in that face.
40:32This is Tony's first painting of two, so he's made a decision
40:35and decided to go with a painting that he spent a fair bit more time on.
40:39Well, here's what I like.
40:40Pink and turquoise sit together beautifully.
40:43In terms of colourism, you know, we can see that Tony knows what he's doing,
40:47but that face, it is a likeness of Chloe in some ways,
40:51but Chloe, after she's received some very bad news,
40:54I'm just not sure this captures her spirit.
40:58I was a bit worried for Tara during the day.
41:00She looked stressed right until the end of the day,
41:02but she's ended up with quite a beautiful likeness.
41:05My question is that, is it a little bit too beautiful?
41:09She's definitely captured Chloe's pout, absolutely perfect.
41:13But you're right, time has been spent on the freckling, the eyes.
41:17What I wanted was a weird lemon on her head.
41:20I do think that her spirit comes through here.
41:23It's just a very safe picture.
41:25She's just focused in on a very small portrait of the sitter's face.
41:30You know, she just missed an opportunity here.
41:35Alex was a really interesting sitter today because she was both very still,
41:39and then as soon as she's not still, she's incredibly animated.
41:44Look, I think Tim took a risk with those teeth.
41:46Teeth are really hard to paint.
41:48I think we have tipped into the slightly ghoulish territory here,
41:52and it's not really helped by that black background.
41:55That said, I think Tim's done well to really cover that canvas in the time that he had.
42:00Yeah, I really like the way that he's done a black T-shirt on a black background,
42:04but they're clearly different textures or slightly different colours.
42:07Interesting elements, but together, it's not doing it for me.
42:11Well, Alex really looks like a model here, doesn't she?
42:16I think Anne's lent in to her beauty, and we've got the whole set up.
42:21There's quite a lot of information in this picture, and yet something is missing for me.
42:28It feels like a fashion sketch to me, which, if done in a considered way,
42:33can make a really wonderful artwork, but in this case, I don't think it's a very effective portrait.
42:39Marco's painting was a real journey across the day.
42:42It took him quite a while to get the likeness.
42:44I think Marco has really successfully worked with such a limited palette.
42:48There is as much colour or more colour than any of the portraits we've seen today,
42:52but he's done it with only a few tubes of paint.
42:54I think it's a really beautiful and effective way of creating a portrait.
42:58The colour of Alex's top that she was wearing was a very subtle fabric.
43:03He didn't have enough time to really sort of capture the delicacy of that,
43:05and he is a delicate painter.
43:07That said, it's a lovely face, it's a lovely likeness,
43:11and I think he's been true to himself with this picture.
43:16Now look, we have three very different portraits of Frank,
43:21and a couple of portraits featuring the star of the day, Annie, the dog.
43:27Let's start with Ruben's painting.
43:30I do think we have some issues with scale here,
43:32in terms of shrinking the mural practice down to a canvas or exhibition style practice.
43:37The over-exaggeration in the features is very muralistic.
43:40I really think that Ruben would have benefited just from a little bit of teeth.
43:45I think that's quite right.
43:47It almost makes it look like Frank has no teeth.
43:49He's got quite nice teeth, actually.
43:53For me, Anna Karen has captured Annie the dog spectacularly.
43:58I agree. Annie the dog is front and centre and looks like Annie the dog.
44:02It's a terrific portrait.
44:03Annie is beautiful.
44:05I do have some questions about the composition here.
44:08Frank, such a gentle man, beautiful smile, and he is in a very masculine pose here.
44:16Are you talking about the man-spread, Bree?
44:19I think that's right.
44:20Look, it is a man-spread pose, but Anna Karen has shown that relationship between the man and his dog,
44:27and that's what Frank's all about.
44:30Finally, Julianne.
44:32So much to like about this picture.
44:34What Julianne has picked up here is that one of the most important things about Frank and who he is,
44:39is his relationship with Annie, and that is just beautifully executed in this work.
44:45That said, we have to talk about the face.
44:48And we've talked about how difficult profiles are.
44:50I think this profile has fallen a bit short.
44:51And yet, there's a lot of merit in this picture.
44:55She can capture that spirit of the bush that we love so much.
44:58She captures the animal so well, that fur, and I love her mark-making.
45:02This is an extremely charming piece of Australiana.
45:08I think it's been a really tough day for the artists, which means it's been a really tough day for us,
45:13and it's going to be really difficult for us to choose a top three.
45:16We've got to put a lot of thought into this next decision.
45:27Thank you, artists.
45:29It's not always easy to be creative on a deadline, but you have all created such incredible work.
45:36The judges have looked at your portraits and have chosen their top three.
45:43The first artist chosen is...
45:46Marco, huh?
45:51It wasn't because of your painting, Marco. It was the beautiful shorts.
46:05Anything to get me over the lines.
46:07The second artist is...
46:11Julianne.
46:16Julianne.
46:17Oh!
46:18Oh!
46:25It's done, it's done.
46:30And the final artist chosen is...
46:31Anna Karen.
46:39Woo!
46:47It's now time for our top three artists to find out who'll be in with a chance to win a life-changing commission
47:00to hang in the National Portrait Gallery.
47:02Anna Karen, Julianne, Marco, congratulations on getting this far in the competition.
47:09But unfortunately only one person can go forward.
47:13Today we had to make a really hard decision, but we chose an artist that showed us really good potential
47:21for success in the semi-final, did a really amazing self-portrait, and in the end what got us was
47:27their fantastic portrayal of the star of the show, Annie the Dog.
47:30And the winner is Anna Karen.
47:42It was really good.
47:44You're kind of amazing.
47:45It was really weird.
47:46Congratulations.
47:48Anna Karen came out with an incredible piece of art.
47:52I'm just super happy for her, and I think she deserves it.
47:56I'm really happy for you.
47:57Awesome.
47:58Absolutely.
47:59Today was really fun.
48:01I am relieved, I am thankful, and I am super excited for the next round.
48:06It's actually wonderful to think I'm going to get to do this again.
48:25Next time.
48:25Please welcome Dr. Carl Krzyzewski.
48:34Our top six return for the semi-final.
48:37I'm wigging it out.
48:38And one eliminated artist gets given a second chance.
48:43I was so happy that we got the opportunity to put in a wild card.
48:47Who will rise to the challenge?
48:49We can do this, can't we?
48:51We got this, Jen.
48:52We got this.
48:53And claim their spot in the grand final.
48:56Absolutely an artist of outstanding potential.
48:59Turn your easels.
49:04Far freaking out.
49:05All right.
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