The Percivals 2026

About the Artwork

Self-portraits have become a regular and important part of my practice. They serve as a way to shake off inhibition and check in with myself.

This particular work was made during a time of extreme unrest.

I’ve never been a great sleeper, but over the past 18 months, ongoing health issues have led to long stretches of insomnia. Painting from life, with no clear end in mind and distraction as the only goal, this piece became my occasional midnight project— added to, scrubbed back, and reworked at different stages of sleeplessness.

Now that my health is restored and sleep has returned, it feels appropriate to accept this portrait as complete. In hindsight, I can appreciate its humour through its sheer intensity, and also recognise it as a reminder that even the worst moments eventually pass.

About the Artist

Specialising in oils and working across still life, portraiture, figurative, and landscape painting, Liam Nunan paints from life, en plein air, and from his studio at Lennox St Studios in Newtown, Sydney. Before taking up painting in 2019, Liam enjoyed a successful career in theatre as an actor. With no formal tertiary art training, he is largely self-taught, channelling his love of theatre, storytelling, and character into his portraiture and figurative work.

Liam has won the Lester Prize (2019), the Brisbane Portrait Prize’s Packers Award (2022, 2023), and the Paddington Art Prize Becker Minty Award (2025). He has also been a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Salon des Refusés, the Darling Portrait Prize, the Dobell Drawing Prize, and the Mosman Prize, among many others.