Archibald Prize winner Richard Lewer is spattered with paint and surrounded by tables piled with half-finished canvases.
After winning Australia's biggest art prize in May, Lewer has taken up a three-month residency at Melbourne's Abbotsford Convent, and is relishing getting to work.
"It's awesome, I'm loving it. Being a good Catholic boy as well, it's nice to come back to the convent," he tells AAP.
The six-hectare inner-city property by the Yarra River was saved from developers in 2004 and has become Australia's largest multi-arts precinct, with Lewer's Packing Room studio one of more than 120 artist spaces on site.
The convent would usually be able to facilitate a residency such as this with money from Creative Victoria but the not-for-profit lost $800,000 in four-year funding earlier in 2026 and the project is instead being supported by philanthropists.
