Eve Lamb
A self portrait by Castlemaine’s Elizabeth Nelson has been chosen as one of the 40 finalists in Western Australia’s premier portrait prize, The Lester.
Rendered in oil on canvas, Nelson’s self portrait is titled Bared and is the second self portrait the local artist has painted to make the finals of The Lester.
“I’m thrilled,” Nelson said of having her work selected among the finalists for the prize.
The prestigious award, which carries a $105,000 prize pool, is available to Australian professional, emerging and young artists and is now in its 16th year.
The finalists were chosen by an independent pre-selection panel consisting of art historian Dr Clarissa Ball, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts director Amy Barrett-Lennard, Linton and Kay Galleries founding director Linton Partington, Art Gallery of Western Australia curatorial assistant Bahar Sayed, and Indigenous artist and designer Tyrown Waigana.
“My mark-making is a record of many moments of looking and thinking over an extended period of hours and days,” Nelson told the Express.
“I work slowly, paying attention to subtle shifts in flesh colour and tone. The painting takes on a life of its own as it gradually evolves,” said the local artist who also works part-time in administration for Melbourne University.
“My aim is to get into these bigger national portrait prizes. That’s my goal.”
Painted over last summer, Bared is Nelson’s second work in a row to make The Lester finals with another self portrait also being selected for last year’s awards.
She must now wait until the end of the month to discover if Bared is selected among The Lester’s ultimate winners, to be announced on September 30.
After that the 40 finalist works, including Bared, will go on display at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in the Centenary Galleries over a six-week season from October 1 to November 14.
