The Percivals 2026

About the Artwork

I selected to paint my husband Mark Dober because our lives as artists are deeply entwined and I feel comfortable painting in his presence over an extended period of time.

I painted Mark’s portrait from life. This meant many hours of sitting.

The word ‘portraiture’ derives from the Latin prōtrahō, which means to draw forth or bring to light. I have sought to portray Mark’s physical presence through an intense focus on the form, tones, colours, and textures of his face and figure set against a spare, light background.

Mark’s physical and psychological presence are reinforced by the centred composition and larger-than-life scale.

About the Artist

Elizabeth Nelson is a painter based in Castlemaine, central Victoria. She has a Diploma of Visual Arts and PhD in History. She makes self-portraits and portraits from life in the studio. Her work has been shown in national prizes, including the Salon des Refusés, Lester Prize, Len Fox Painting Award, Percival Portrait Prize, Portia Geach Memorial Award, and Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize. She has held solo shows in Melbourne at C3 Contemporary Art Space, Gallerysmith Project Space and Red Gallery. She has undertaken residencies at BigCi, Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio at Tweed Regional Gallery, and Hill End.