Aged just 17, Jasmine Lancaster Merton has won ABC’s Portrait Artist of the Year
Teen artist Jasmine Lancaster Merton recently wowed viewers of the ABC television show Portrait Artist of the Year, beating 53 other contestants to win season two of the series – becoming the youngest participant to ever claim the title.
Jasmine is a Year 12 student at Glenaeon Rudolf Steiner School in Castlecrag, and grew up in a creative household, telling NL that ‘there were always art supplies around.’ “I just wanted to make (art) and then I didn’t really stop,” she says.
The show saw nine artists per episode given four hours to paint a portrait of a celebrity they met that day in the studio. The paintings were judged by a panel, with the winner each episode progressing to the semi-final, and then the grand final.
Jasmine stunned the judges with her paintings of Casey Donovan and Marcia Hines. These works progressed Jasmine to the show’s finale, where the contestants painted INXS musician Kirk Pengilly. Her vibrant portraits were praised by the judges for their technicality and for encompassing the character and personality of the sitters.
Jasmine says that she was ‘in shock’ when announced the winner of the series. “It was this amazing, ecstatic moment,” she says.
Her prize for winning Portrait Artist of the Year was a commission to complete a portrait of entertainer Justine Clarke, which has been hung in the National Portrait Gallery.
Jasmine describes herself as an artist who likes to ‘lock into it’ to get the work done. “Being on the show was a very different thing for me because I’ve never really had anyone else around while I make (art),” she says. “Most of the time I (create art) at my house. My bedroom is my studio.”
Jasmine recounts feeling ‘quite behind’ at times on the TV series. As the youngest contestant, she felt ‘less experienced’ and found herself unfamiliar with the celebrities she was tasked with painting.
Jasmine with Justine Clarke and portrait (of Justine)
“It was like, this is a fresh face I’ve never seen before,” she says.
However, this was not a hindrance to Jasmine’s creativity and rather allowed her portraits to be shaped on ‘the vibe I’m getting from you in this very second.’ “It was a lot easier because I didn’t have any previous conceptions of who they were…outside of that exact moment.”
Jasmine is used to doing self-portraits, with her painting My name is Jazz winning the Young Archie competition at the Art Gallery of NSW last year.
“It was a really weird experience (painting other people) because when you’re painting or drawing yourself, you go, okay, this is me. This is my face. I’ve had this my entire life. Every time I look in a mirror, I can see and analyse this face.”
Despite it being ‘daunting’ to meet her sitters for the first time, Jasmine enjoyed getting to know them while working on their portraits. “They were really good to draw,” she says. “They were conversational and interesting, nice and lovely.”
As for what’s next for Jasmine, her journey as an artist is only just beginning. “I’ve had a few requests for commissions come in,” she says. “That’s kind of the end goal, being a commission artist and just getting to paint or draw all day.”
But first, Jasmine plans to take at least one gap year following completion of her HSC exams. “I know I definitely want to travel. I want to relax for the first time in my life and not be doing something every day,” she says.
Stream Portrait Artist of the Year on ABC iview.