MANILA, Philippines — Filipina-Australian artist Loribelle Spirovski won the People’s Choice Award for the Archibald Prize, Australia’s most prestigious portrait art prize.
Loribelle painted Aboriginal Australian musician William Barton using her fingers, despite having a nerve injury that made the process more difficult.
The artist said she was overwhelmed that the public chose her work.
“It has been a difficult few years and this whole experience is the most beautiful reprieve and reward,” Loribelle told the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
“I am infinitely grateful to William for allowing me to paint him and so humbled by everyone’s responses to the work,” she added.
Loribelle and William met last October while the artist was recovering from her injury.
She said she listened to William’s music while working on his portrait.
“As the music began, my hand set the brush aside and I dipped my finger into the soft, pliant paint,” she said.
“Without a brush, painting was almost painless. As the portrait painted itself, I felt alive in a way I hadn’t for a very long time,” she added.
Loribelle was born in the Philippines in 1990 to a Filipino mother and a Serbian father.
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