By JONATHON HOWARD
IT WAS a brush with royalty that Noosa artist Tom Macbeth will never forget and one he hopes will impress the Archibald Prize judges this month.
Mr Macbeth recently submitted his photo-realistic portrait of the Crown Princess of Denmark, Mary Donaldson, entitled “Transformation”, which he said took three months to paint.
Mr Macbeth previously made the Archibald finals for his portrait of Aussie sailing adventurer Jessica Watson in 2011 and he hopes this will be his year.
Speaking with Noosa Today, Mr Macbeth said he spent two days with Princess Mary and described her as “down-to-earth”.
“She was extremely welcoming to the palace in Copenhagen,” he said.
“She was very grounded and a down-to-earth person.”
Mr Macbeth said the sitting started with a brainstorming session discussing various aspects of Princess Mary’s life in Denmark.
The common thread continued to be her remarkable transformation from humble Hobart girl, to global figure and Danish Royal Princess.
He said the portrait not only depicts Princess Mary standing in her feminine power, but also features the Monarch Butterfly, which symbolises both the transformation of Mary’s life, as well as being the symbol for her charity, The Mary Foundation.
Mr Macbeth said he was surprised when the Princess offered to drive him and his wife Carolina to the park.
“We jumped in her car and she drove us to the park to show us the cherry blossoms which we thought would provide a very feminine backdrop in the painting – they are her favourite flowers,” he said.
Mr Macbeth said they were not swamped by onlookers, but instead enjoyed a pleasant stroll around the entire park.
“Of course everybody recognised her, but they would just wave and she would wave back.”
Finalists for the 2014 Archibald Prize will be announced on 10 July.
