Mosman Art Walk portrait painter Evert Ploeg caused controversy at the Archibald Prize
Fine Artist Evert Ploeg has painted a lot of portraits. You might have admired his portrait of actor Deborah Mailman that won him a People’s Choice Award in the 1999 Archibald Prize, now hanging with six of his other works in The Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
In late 2025 he painted Australian Paralympic wheelchair racer Madison de Rozario on ABC’s Portrait Artist of the Year.
“Everyone has a story that makes them who they are and I kind of like that,” says Evert. “That’s probably why I like being a portrait painter, because deep down, I just like to hang out and jibber jabber with people and find out things. And then you see that you could be six degrees of separation (from each other), and you’re connected in a weird way.”
Evert’s Australian mother and Dutch father encouraged his talent and sent him for art lessons as a child, unusual at the time, he says. He won the Warringah Art Prize as a 16-year-old Cromer High Student and went on to study dress design at what is now known as Sydney Art School. Evert worked in fashion and commercial illustration before slowly transitioning to painting, mostly portraits using oils.
Evert’s portrait of Deborah Mailman hangs at the National Portrait Gallery
In 1997, Evert’s portrait of the Bananas in Pyjamas caused a stir when it was rejected by the Archibald selection committee on the basis they were not ‘distinguished in the arts.’ “I wasn’t trying to be controversial,” Evert says. “I honestly believed that I fitted the criteria.” He went on to win the Archibald Packing Room Award in 2004 and two Archibald People’s Choice Awards (1999 and 2007), just a few in a lengthy list of nationals and international prizes.
Evert lives in Dee Why with a ‘kind of messy’ studio in the backyard. He says it’s like going to a car workshop as opposed to a tidy salesroom. “I feel as though it’s getting smaller and smaller as I get more stuff,” Evert says. “But it’s functional and has a good atmosphere.”
He doesn’t research his subject before a portrait, saying it’s like reading a review before seeing a movie. “I don’t want to see their sense of scale or anything because there’s a predetermined image that starts to happen that I don’t really like,” says Evert.
According to Evert, about 95% of portrait artists work from a photo, but he prefers to paint from life, as there are elements such as folds or shadows on clothing that you don’t pick up as well from a photo. He’d also miss out on the ‘jibber jabber’ and finding out things that would inform his work.
Evert’s two daughters went through the Arts Program at Mosman High School (one is still attending), so it was natural for him to get involved with the Mosman Art Walk, a collaboration between retailers and artists, where businesses display art in their window. People can follow the trail of art (until 10 March) and purchase artworks if they wish, with a percentage of the sales donated to Mosman High School.
Evert’s portrait for the walk, Red Blinkers, is of the head of a horse, and a hand. He likes equine painting. “I’m not a horse rider,” he says. “I just like the movement and their muscles. There’s something kind of natural and untouched by them.”
Evert’s website showcases all his work including portraits of professors, actors, judges, dames, and everyone in between.
“I just like to paint. (Even) someone who just happens to walk into a supermarket,” says Evert. “Every single person has a little story.”
See Evert’s artwork at evertploeg-artist.com.au