Emily Crockford Self-portrait with Daddy in the daisies, watching the field of planes

Emily Crockford’s portrait is painted in honour of her late father, John Crockford, who died in January 2020. She says: ‘This painting is my dream come true. It’s my dream of my daddy. I watched him flying his beautiful planes in the fields. He made amazing models. This painting is very special to me, because he’s my lovely father.’

Crockford says the portrait is ‘a selfie with memories of my dad, featuring botanical flowers, because I love flowers. I’ve painted pink and white daisies for Daddy because he loves them and I love the colours.’

‘I began my painting at Studio A, a big huge canvas! Mostly I’ve been working on it at my home studio, the garage I call “Emily’s studio with museum planes!” It was originally Dad’s workshop where he built model planes that he’d fly in the fields in Scone. Daddy’s planes are hanging in the studio garage.’

Crockford was born in Sydney in 1986. She has been awarded a number of major public art commissions and exhibited in various group exhibitions. This is her first time as an Archibald Prize finalist.