FAITHFUL PORTRAYAL

MLC Archivist and awardwinning artist Ms Michelle Campbell recently turned her attention, and paintbrushes, to one of the best-known figures around the College, Reverend Hollis Wilson. “I’ve known Hollis for a long time, but then some time ago I saw him at a College Sunday event at MLC; he came out wearing his robe and this brilliant gold and white stole,” she said. “It was just an image that stuck with me. I thought, I have to paint that.”

The result is a two-metre-high portrait, designed to reflect Reverend Wilson’s larger-than-life disposition. “He has a very strong presence—he’s a natural storyteller and a natural narrator,” Michelle said. “That’s what I really wanted to capture.”

Called Purple for Lent, the painting was completed around Easter this year and captures Reverend Wilson in his favourite stole for the season. It took about four days to complete. Ms Campbell will enter the work into this year’s Lester Prize for portraiture, for which she has previously been a finalist.

Hear about Reverend Wilson’s fascinating career—which once saw him work as a NASA engineer—and unique perspective on the connection between faith and young people. mlc.wa.edu.au/experience-mlc/girls-on-fire-the-podcast