2025 Interpretive Portrait Prize

Doodler is not just about drawing, it is about creating inspiration & avenues for new art. Doodler, Nudenight & the Wallace family invite you to produce artworks of and about P. S. Wallace

Finalists will be exhibited in the all new Doodler Gallery (Opening) Fri Dec 5.

1st Prize $800 plus a 1 month exhibition at Doodler Jan 9-31st

2nd Prize $200

Entries Close Midnight Nov 23rd 2025. Must include entry fee ($30) and a photo of the work (1000px width). Finalists will be notified 26/10. Physical works need to be delivered to 9 Fitzroy street between Nov 26 & Dec 2.

Along with the announcement of winners on opening night works will be displayed along with a printed critique from P. S. Wallace explaining where you went right and wrong.

If you don’t have the artwork completed yet you can still register, just be sure to email your artists statement and thumbnail to paul@peowpeow.com before the deadline.

Background: P. S. Wallace is the proprietor of Doodler, Nudenight Life Drawing, and Art Director of PEOWPEOW. He is also sometimes known by his art moniker Stuntmullet, and it is rumoured that he was in fact the frontman for the early 90’s bands I May Just Fuck Myself and LambLambLambMan.

As a model he has served as a curio and muse to this years 40th Anniversary Fletcher Foundation Winner Ev Shipard (currently viewable for a short time at Doodler, straight from hanging in the Garden Gallery Sydney Botanical Gardens), and Lester Prize Finalist Jon Potter (currently hanging in The Western Australian Museum). He also saw a magnificent drawing of himself in the wind once, but it went away.

Despite Paul being potentially already dead, he is offering up his body and mind for science and the arts. He asks you to visually interpret him however you want. Find cold beauty, or don’t. Mock him, parody his torn face and tired limbs. It is totally up to you (the artist) to make something. I beg you though. Once you think you have finished, just take a moment and figure out if you could just give it a bit more. Push it a little further. Tear it up and start again. Boring will not win this prize.

Entries are open to portraiture but not strictly limited to it. Abstraction is encouraged interpretations of why P. S Wallace exists will be revelled in. Special consideration given to artworks of bold failure testable observable stoppability and true emotional heart gouging. Artworks displaying characteristics of “fucking goodness” will always be given preference over craft like photographic accuracy.

It’s a judges call on eligibility this year being our inaugural prize. The royal “We” are seeking new and interesting ideas, but I am not going to deny some entering who painted me relatively recently. For clarity the above painting by Ev is a few years in the tooth and has travelled more widely than I have. It already has the distinction of making my father cry, it’s done enough so is ineligible. I believe Little Jonny Potters “Gentrifuckation” is even still on tour. He also has the sense to have warned me he is working on something new, so again ineligible. If you have concerns do let Doodler know.

We will do all we can to accommodate submissions over 1.8m in any dimension but please advise if that is your intention.

Due to popular demand multiple entries will be allowed (it’s your money).

This will be a physical exhibition, so whilst various mediums are eligible, we need to be able to show any finalists (If in doubt just ask Doodler).

Entries may be offered up for sale (conditions apply, please talk to Doodler).

Judging Mechanism

The brief to the judge is to uncover and award on

1. AFFECT ... Emotional creation over that of physical accuracy

2. NOVELTY and originality

3. BEAUTY (and all of it’s gnarled glory)

4. CONTEXT

The sole judge is P. S. Wallace and his decision is final.

To facilitate your understanding of The Wallace P. S. Wallace will be sitting alongside normal Nudenight sessions at Doodler on the following dates: