~MILLY ALCOCK~
The subject of Katrina Rhodes first Archibald painting is her cousin, Amelia "Milly" Alcock (born 11 April 2000) 
,an Australian actress. Milly received an AACTA Award nomination for her performance in the 
Foxtel comedy-drama Upright (2019–2022). She gained wider recognition for starring as young 
Rhaenyra Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon (2022). For the role, Alcock was nominated 
for a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
In January 2023, Alcock appeared in the music video for the song "Easy Now" by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds 
from the band’s fourth album Council Skies. She made her West End stage debut in The Crucible at the 
Gielgud Theatre in June. In January 2024, it was announced that Alcock had been cast to play 
Kara Zor-El / Supergirl in the upcoming DC Universe films.

Reaching out to Milly was fun as I had not yet known her as a young woman, only a girl whom I would see when 
the family got together. The years inbetween Milly had created quite the life for herself and I had developed 
enough courage at 49, to enter my first art prize.

The only hurdle to entering this prize was the distance between us. I did try to organise a trip to 
England to see her in mid 2023. Milly, with her busy scedule in the lead role in The Crucible, and my
comitments to my studio in Collingwood, it was hard to work out. When Milly called me and said she was 
comming for a month over Christmas to see her family in Sydney, we both knew this could work and this 
opportunity would be brilliant.

Milly came to Melbourne and stayed with me and my partner for 7 days in total. I will tell you what I learned 
about this georgiouse, remarkable creature.  And what I learned deturmined the artworks outcome. 
I had plenty of creative ideas prior to spending time with her in my studio, yet they all went by the 
wayside when I decided to just paint the truth of her.

Milly is kind, chilled and extemely clever. The many long converstions we had revealed that she found
the attention, due to her success, overwhelming. Most would welcome that kind of  immersion and even revel in
that kind of spotlight. Milly is a young lady trying to come to terms with all the things that are tacked onto 
having an extreme talent, such as hers. I love her for this, the down to earth nature that she has, the easy going
attitute towards life, yet her power of commitment to what she is mastering is meaningful. 

The suit I borrowed from a very dear friend to have her wear. Milly knowing that the suit was too big for her and 
that she didnt have to be anything but comforatble, I knew we were on the right track. Simplicity. 
The chair on which she sits, I purchesed from a local charity shop a few weeks prior to her coming to stay. 
The butterflies in my stomach disapeared when I asked her to sit for me in that chair, in my studio, in that suit.
So in front of me is a woman, who often is seen as a girl. Small in stature, pretty in face, cute as a button, yet what
really sits in front of me is a larger that life, wise and sophistcated lady.

The artwork depicts elements of her charector I feel comfotable to share. Milly is nostalgic, represented by the
stiching of her childhood drawings and school reports on her lapel. Milly is grown, represented by the wine, which
we were lucky enough to share whist spending time together. Milly is super, represented by the hint of blue 
under her suit. Milly is feice, represented by the Dragons egg on the side table. Milly is beautiful.
The landscape I created to be her backdrop is a part of me, my nostagic side, my love for older worlds.