Ryan, who has been nominated 10 times for the Archibald Prize, as well as several nominations for the Wynne and Sulman Prize, is one of Australia?s most prominent painters, having had regular solo exhibitions since 1988. He was the winner of the 2010 Paddington Art Prize for landscape. His subjects include landscape and portraiture with an interest in relations between Indigenous Australias and settlers. Ryan?s subjects have included film producer Margaret Fink, novelist Tom Keneally and artists Adam Cullen, Kerrie Lester and Ben Quilty. One of his most recent works, which will be entered into this years Blake Prize, explores an interesting aspect of his family history. Ryan, who is adopted, discovered several years ago that his father was a Catholic priest and his mother, a Church employee, had kept the birth a secret from almost everyone for most of her life, giving birth in NZ before returning to her native Melbourne. His entry is entitled ?My Real Daddy is a Priest?. The winner will be announced in August.