NATIONAL
PORTRAITURE PRIZE

Hand in the original artwork to Mrs Griffiths or Mrs De before 3 PM on Monday, 31st of July. 

Portrait Subject: 

Create a portrait of someone who is special to you and plays a significant role in your life.

The person should be known to you, know you, and have a personal connection with you. 

Entry Instructions and Conditions:

Carefully read and comply with all entry instructions and conditions to be considered for selection.

Portrait Subject Guidelines:

We prefer portraits to be “painted from life” with the subject sitting for the portrait, similar to the Archibald Prize.

You may also create the portrait from memory or use your own photograph as a reference.

Consider the nature of our school community when preparing your artwork, as select artworks will be displayed.

Artwork Requirements:

Each entrant can submit only one artwork.

Artwork must be on paper (canvas paper, watercolour paper, high-quality drawing paper, pastel paper, etc.).

Artwork must be unmounted, unframed, and A3 size (420 × 297 mm).

It can be vertical or horizontal.

Any combination of art materials may be used (e.g., paint, pencil, pastels, paper collage), but the artwork must be two-dimensional.

Preparing Artwork for Entry:

Fill in the online entry form once your artwork is completed.

Clearly label the back of the artwork with the display orientation, your name, age, year level, homeroom teacher, ACC Campus (ensure it doesn’t show through to the front).

Do not roll or fold the artwork. Place it in a plastic pocket between two pieces of 300GSM Paper for protection and to keep it flat.

Exhibition/Judging:

Finalists will be exhibited at school and the winners announced via social media on August 11th.

Finalists will be chosen based on relevance to the theme, artistic interpretation of the theme, and originality, as decided by the judges.

Do I have to be in a Visual Arts Class to submit an entry? 

No, any student enrolled at ACC Singleton can submit an artwork. 

Do I have to complete this artwork at school?

No, students are encouraged to create their artwork at home. Students in Art Club may decide to work on their entry during that time. 

When can I start working on my artwork?

Now, you can start as soon as possible. 

Can I enter a self-portrait?

Yes.

Do I have to know the person personally, and do they have to know me?

Yes. We specify that the portrait must be of a person who is special to you – someone who is known to you and who knows you and plays a significant role in your life. So if you paint your best friend as if they were a superhero, that would be eligible, but a portrait of a superhero would not. A portrait of someone you knew who has since died is eligible too.

Does my portrait need to be realistic or look like a photograph? 

No. Students are encouraged to explore a range of different art making techniques, movements, compositions and mark making that is suited to them as an artist. Students are encouraged to be expressive and to create a work that displays their creativity as an artist.

What does ‘painted from life’ mean?

It means that you have one or more ‘live sittings’ with your subject (where you and your subject are together and you are working on their portrait). You do not have to finish the portrait at the live sittings. You can take photographs and do sketches as references to help you to complete the portrait. This is how artists work for the Archibald Prize and we encourage entrants to do the same. However, you may also create your portrait from memory or take a photograph to use as reference.

Can I use a photograph to help create the portrait?

Yes, but it should be a photograph that you have taken yourself.

Can I copy?

The judges are looking for originality and only original work is eligible for the competition. You must not copy an artwork or photograph created by another person or an image from another source such as the internet or a print publication.

Do I have to enter a painting?

No. You can use any physical materials you like, including paint, pencil, oil pastel, crayon and collage, as long as the artwork is dry, has no sharp edges, is two dimensional and doesn’t sit higher than 5mm above the surface of the paper. Print-outs of digitally created drawings (eg those drawn with a stylus on a tablet) are eligible for entry, however, need to be printed on high quality A3 paper outside of school. 

Can I use a canvas board or similar material, rather than paper?

No. If you are going to paint using oils or acrylic paint, please use Canvas Paper. If you are using watercolour, gouache or inks please use watercolour paper. 

Can I enter more than once?

No. You can only submit one artwork.

When will you return my artwork?

Students will be responsible for collecting their own works from the class teacher (JS) or Mrs Griffiths (SS). Students who win the three main prizes will not have their artwork returned to them until mid November. 

Inspiration

Students are encouraged to look at the Archibald Prize and the Young Archie for inspiration with discretion. We would advise primary school aged students to access sites under the supervision of parents/guardians.