Jordan Richardson John

Renowned actor and director John Bell is chair of the Bouddi Foundation for the Arts, dedicated to supporting and encouraging young artists on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Jordan Richardson met him in 2012 after receiving a grant.

‘John and the foundation have continued to be supportive so it felt natural to ask to paint him,’ he says.

‘I wanted to paint John lost in thought, something honest that was more than just John Bell the actor. I initially gave him a Rubik’s cube but ended up settling for these little figures that his wife Anna Volska dug up from somewhere. I was amazed at the way a man of such accomplishment took direction from some 24-year-old kid. He was incredibly generous and patient. I hope the portrait captures a glimmer of something beyond the curtain.’

Born in Sydney in 1993, Richardson has a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) from the National Art School. He has been both a finalist and highly commended in the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship. This year he is a finalist in the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize and the Kilgour Prize. This is his first time in the Archibald Prize.