Rick Amor Studio self-portrait

It was Rick Amor’s art dealer who suggested he enter Studio self-portrait in the Archibald Prize. Amor has been a regular presence at the Archibalds over the years, having been selected as a finalist on six previous occasions. Last year he was represented by a portrait of his dealer, Bruce Pollard.

Amor has only entered a self-portrait in the Archibald once before, in 1980, and that was not accepted. ‘This one was quite hard,’ he says. ‘I was trying to do it in such a manner that it was understated. It took me many attempts to get the right amount of paint, to get the hands
and face to work. I painted the hands 10 or 12 times. You can’t make it look too fussy; it has to look easy.’

Amor is pictured in his working clobber in his studio. ‘The T-squares and rulers are the ones I use when I’m painting.’

Born in 1948, Rick Amor studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School with John Brack. He began work as a full-time professional artist in 1972 producing a constant stream of paintings, posters, illustrations and cartoons. His work has also been hung in the Wynne, Sulman and Dobell Prizes.