Henry Mulholland Padriac P McGuinness

Two portraits of Sydney Morning Herald columnist PP (Paddy) McGuinness have been hung in the Archibald Prize previously, both painted by Keith Looby.

Henry Mulholland had initially wanted to paint Looby for the 2000 Archibald Prize. ‘But before I start to paint I have to see it in my head and I couldn’t see Keith,’ he says. ‘We discussed it over a lunch at which Paddy, whom I have known for ten years, happened to be present. I’d really liked Keith’s portrait of Paddy last year and thought he’d be a fantastic subject and I’d had enough drinks to say to him, “Why don’t I paint you instead?” and he said, “Why not”.

‘I could only have painted Paddy in a bar with a drink – not with a word processor,’ says Mulholland, who has only known McGuinness socially. In fact, his glass is empty. ‘It’s as if he’s waiting for the next taker, friend or foe, to buy him a drink and pick his brains. Paddy’s stock in trade is words and opinions so it’s a bit like those old guys who sit in the corner of the pub. If you buy them a drink you can talk to them until the beer runs out.’

McGuinness usually wears all black with dark glasses, ‘though he has been seen in a red shirt’, says Mulholland, who wanted some colour in the portrait. Usually Mulholland manicures his paintings into beautiful smooth surfaces but in this case he left it rough, wanting a different effect.

Born in Northern Ireland in 1962, Mulholland migrated to Australia in 1973. He studied at the National Art School in Sydney. He has been represented in the Archibald Prize on five previous occasions.