After 40 years working together in the children’s literature space, author Libby Hathorn agreed to illustrator Liz Bowring’s request to paint her – “as long as you submit it to the Archibald”.

The pair arrived Tuesday morning at the loading dock behind the Art Gallery of New South Wales, where the canvas is among the more than 2,000 entries from across the country that will be processed through the gallery’s packing room this week.