Adam Cullen Portrait of Mark Occhilupo

This portrait by Adam Cullen of surfer Mark Occhilupo was a finalist in the Daily Telegraph Sporting Portrait Prize, held in conjunction with the Archibald Prize 2000.

'Occy’, the golden boy of surfing in his teens, quit the sport but staged a comeback to win the 1999 world title.

He has 'a fantastic head on him – an incredibly sculptured head which is asking to be painted,’ says Cullen. 'After hearing about this personal and professional ups and downs and his incredible comeback, I really felt I had to paint him. It’s an inspirational story and one that gives every overweight, out-of-condition Australian like me a glimmer of hope.’

Cullen was born in 1965 in Sydney. His portrait of actor David Wenham won the 2000 Archibald Prize.