Who should I paint? (the code word that is the 'portrait subject')

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Ah, we’ve now come to this, the most serious of our decisions...the subject!

The ‘who do I paint?’ answer is a code word that tells the inner-circle of the Archibald Prize whether you’re a 'somebody' and worth taking note of.

Why?

Each painting has 5 seconds to grab the judge’s attention as they sweep past 900 other hopefuls. If the subject is unrecognised we’ve lost half our chance, and as they say the one thing worse than being despised is being unnoticed. Sure we could make up for it by being noticed in another way but things just get a bit tougher.

We’ve spoken about the occupation 'artist' carrying the weight of winning history (more than a third) but if we want to be radically rebellious we could pick any number of occupations unloved by Archibald history.

A banker, a rabbi, a sportsman, a mining magnate and journalist have each won a single time. Never a blogger, businessman, model or pastor.

But remember that radical rebels can be burnt by their own hubris so let’s consider wisely if we want to paint an artist (30 times), author (9 times), actor (8 times) or an Archibald Prize judge!

Here are some options already suggested.

  • Shane Warne (genius sportsman)
  • Ben Quilty (Archibald winning artist)
  • David Marr (famed journalist)
  • Roy Williams (public intellectual)
  • Michael Jensen (Christian pastor)
  • Dan Brettig (cricket writer)
  • Unnoticed busdriver
  • David Walsh (founder of MONA)
  • Anonymous
  • Peter FitzSimmons (ex-rugby player, author)
  • Self-portrait 

Who is the most famous person you know? Can you tell them of our quest?

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Theme Archibald, Archibald subject, Who

Frequently Asked Questions
What Others Are Asking...

These are the most common questions asked of Oscar.

Products

Why are your products so special?

Many products (including wall art and t-shirts) are made by combining stock art (you know, images you can buy on used on bad advertisements) to make pretty patterns that don't mean a lot.

Oscar’s works are original and interesting - all designed and crafted using his own hands onto real paper with his imagination, real pencils and ink. That’s what makes each piece like nothing else in the world.

What are the prints made of? Why are they such quality?

Each piece is printed onto the finest museum grade paper. Oscar chooses the Hahnemuhle brand because it feels and looks superb (if you’re interested it’s acid free and calcium carbonate buffered) plus it can last longer than 100 years!

The inking process is called giclée printing and is a high-quality way of getting ink onto the best paper.

id="size" Which size is right for me? A few helpful things to consider:

A4 is small and good for a small desk, kitchen or small wall like a corner.

A3 is medium and good for a larger desk, larger kitchen or moderate sized wall.

A2 a larger and really nice on a wall, behind a bed or desk, adorning a hallway or thoroughfare.

A1 a very large and a wonderful way to make an impact in a room, office, reception, thoroughfare or atrium. Pow.

Dimensions

A4 210 x 297 mm | 8.3 x 11.7 in
A3 297 x 420 mm | 11.7 x 16.5 in
A2 420 x 594 mm | 16.5 x 23.4 in
A1 594 x 841 mm | 23.4 x 33.1 in

Buying

Do you offer free worldwide shipping?

Oscar offers free shipping to anywhere in the world. The farthest flung so far is the Netherlands, United States and England but he’d love to go even further! (perhaps you’re from Nepal or Antarctica maybe?)

How can Oscar offer free shipping?

Well, Oscar loves free shipping and it’s worth what it costs him for radically happy customers!

Can I return and get a refund if I’m not 100% happy?

Yes! Of course. Oscar wants you to be radically happy and satisfied (that’s good business isn’t it? But also good humanness...). We’re convinced you will be! But if for whatever reason you’re not super happy please contact us and we’ll arrange a full refund as soon as humanly possible.

Oscar

Oscar is Award-Winning?

Yes. He’s entered and won art prizes including for a piece about a magical bus and its passengers and a 22 page piece Moleskin about a boy who woke up with a strange knowing one day. He was also featured in prominent publications for his work and journey to one of the world’s largest portrait prizes, The Archibald Prize.

But now he prefers to imagine and make to change the world.

What is Oscar’s life Mission?

Oscar mission is to change the world with a pencil, pens and beautiful paper so that his imaginative tales and creations can be found in rooms, offices, buses and wall facades in town and cities large and small - so people awe at the ordinary.

A billion people on earth would be nice :) A beloved collection of children’s books too (that Roald Dahl would be proud of). Oh, and a film trilogy...

But I’d love to start (if you don’t mind) with you today!

● Have another questions? Contact Oscar here and he'd love to answer it!

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