Finger-painting of Australian virtuoso musician wins Archibald People's Choice
She felt compelled to meet Barton, but was too shy, so pianist husband Simon Tedeschi provided the introductions. A month out from the deadline for the Archibald Prize, sitter and subject finally came together for a joyful portrait which won Spirovski the 2025 Archibald Prize People's Choice award on Thursday.
Unknown to Barton, Spirovski had been suffering a hand injury – a form of repetitive strain aggravated by scoliosis which the artist attributes to long hours spent bent over painting.
'Earlier this year was very rough,' she said. 'I genuinely had a moment where I thought I was going to quit being a full-time artist and maybe do a psychology degree because I was getting all these signals like, 'You know what, maybe, I should stop this and do something more practical.'
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Then came a eureka moment – the artist ditched the brush to paint her final composition with fingers and gloves.
Accepting the $5000 prize, Spirovski said she had worried she might not do justice to someone like Barton, who had the 'dignity of an ambassador and the modesty of a boy'. 'I can never thank you enough for this, Will. This portrait came when I needed it most.'
Spirovski was inspired to throw her paintbrush away while playing the musician's renowned composition, Birdsong at Dusk, as background music.
'As the music began, my hand set the brush aside, and I dipped my finger into the soft, pliant paint. I turned the volume up, the music guiding me,' she recounted in her artist statement. '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.'
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