CLARE artist Thomas Delohery has been selected as a finalist for a prestigious Australian portrait prize.
Delohery’s portrait of actor Jared Harris is in the running for the Percival Portrait Prize 2022 which carries a $40,000 prize. The final exhibition opens on April 22.
Harris whose credits include Chernobyl, Mad Men and The Crown among many others sat in person for Delohery in Limerick City in 2015.
Delohery did two drawings from life of Harris and has done various paintings of the actor since returning to Australia.
The last one he only finished a few months ago which is now in the running for the Percival prize.
“Jared posed a bit of a challenge on the day of the sitting,” Delohery explained, “He is one of the hardest working Actors in Hollywood so he has trouble sitting still, a lot of nervous energy.
“I knew what I wanted from the sitting and Jared takes direction really well which explains why he is such a good actor.
“I remember on the day Jared spent a lot of time talking about his love of rare books and first editions.”
“The last time I spoke to Jared he spoke fondly about being back in Ireland to film scenes from the Foundation TV Series on Apple TV Plus,” Delohery recalled.
The Percival Portrait Prize opens on April 22 in the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Queensland.