Widely regarded at the time as Australia’s greatest living artist, an exuberant 80-year-old John Olsen talks with acclaimed art commentator Betty Churcher about his life’s work.

Still painting with all his creative energy in his studio in the NSW Southern Highlands, Olsen offers a rare insight into his creative process and love of painting. He shares some of the influences on his art and reveals the inspiration behind several of his famous paintings. Olsen has won many awards including the Archibald Prize in 2005 for his Self-Portrait Janus-Faced. As Churcher says, ‘He is an artist whose lust for life has few parallels in Australian art’.

A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Early Works. Produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. © National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.