Paintings entered into the prestigious Archibald Prize usually feature famous Australian faces, but this year there will be a painting featuring a face familiar to some in Ballarat but not all.
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Black Hill school crossing supervisor Lois Block is the subject of an Archibald Prize painting by artist Araceli Zumaglini whose sons attend Black Hill Primary School.
Entering the Archibald Prize, which carries a $100,000 prize, has been a bucket list item for the talented artist, and it was her husband Andrew Clancy who suggested Ms Block as the subject.
"It was his idea to do Lois the crossing lady," Ms Zumaglini said. "He said 'stuff the famous people, let's make Lois famous'."
The couple had got to know Ms Block taking their two eldest sons to school daily via the school crossing, and were amazed at her ability to learn everyone's names and greet each child and adult individually.
"Not only that but she's always got a smile on her face," Ms Zumaglini said.
She studied fine arts in Spain before moving to Australia 13 years ago, but her artistic pursuits were put on hold after getting "busy with family life" for the past few years raising the couple's three sons aged 7, 5, and 3.
With a new art studio at the back of her Black Hill home she set her sights on creating an Archibald portrait.
"We lived in Sydney for a couple of years, about 10 years ago, so the Archibald Prize has always been in my bucket list," she said.
The portrait has taken just under a year, to comply with the Archibald rules, and involved several sittings with Ms Block as well as open air painting sessions near the school crossing to get the background right.
But she has left the final touches to the last minute.
Entries for the 2024 Archibald Prize must be lodged at Art Gallery of NSW by Friday and she will drive the painting to Sydney herself on Thursday.
The thought of posing for a painting, let alone an entry into the must well-known Australian portrait competition the Archibald Prize, had never occurred to Ms Block, who was "dumbfounded" when Ms Zumaglini first asked her.
"It's been absolutely amazing even to be asked to do it. It's not every day you get asked to sit for a painting," Ms Block said. "It's a highlight of my life.
"It's been good fun and I love looking at it. She's done a marvelous job and you can clearly see it's me."
Ms Block has been the crossing supervisor on Black Hill Primary School's Sherrard Street crossing for 15 years.
"I love the kids," she said. "It gets you out of the house and the kids every day you see them smiling and they love it when you acknowledge them by name," she said.
The progress of the painting over the past 12 months has been a whole school affair, with students getting excited when they see Ms Zumaglini painting outside school and staff members coming over to see the painting.
All fingers are crossed that Ms Zumaglini's bright painting of Ms Block will be one of the finalists in the 2024 Archibald Prize announced on May 30.
