Paul Jackson Gretel Killeen

Artist Paul Jackson is also a glider pilot, a hobby he took up in order to see the landscape aerially. Through the gliding he met Michael Bougen, one of the producers of Celebrity Big Brother for Channel Ten, with whom he became quite friendly. When Bougen heard that Jackson had been in last year’s Archibald Prize, he asked who he was going to paint this year and said that if he could help with introductions, he would be happy to. He rattled off a list of names, one of which was Gretel Killeen, a bestselling author and the presenter of Big Brother in Australia. Aware of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador (she also supports the National Breast Cancer Foundation), Jackson liked the idea of painting Killeen but wanted to do a low-key, unembellished, natural portrait of her. ‘We know her as the brash host of Big Brother but she’s not like that at all in private,’ he says. ‘I wanted to paint her without make-up, whilst hinting at her public persona with the strappy top.’ Bougen contacted Killeen and she and Jackson got together to discuss it. Although reluctant at first, Killeen eventually agreed.

Jackson wanted a late summer feel to the portrait and used five light sources. As for the circular canvas, he wanted something different to his entry last year – an elongated rectangle – and didn’t remember seeing a circular portrait in the Archibald before. ‘I got her arms to form a rectangle with her head forming a triangle, so it’s almost like a mandala with a cyclical, contemplative feeling,’ he says. ‘A circle is less aggressive than a rectangular canvas and feminises the image. It draws you in and make you want to contemplate the face more gently.’

Born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1950, Jackson came to Australia in 1976 and lives in Sydney. This is his fourth time as an Archibald finalist.