Artist Michael Bain had not picked up a paint brush for 13 years until his wife suggested he paint a portrait of Gold Coast doctor Dinesh Palipana.
Now the artwork of Dr Palipana is in the running to win the prestigious Brisbane Portrait Prize.
"Many years ago in the early 2000s I actually did a picture of Wally Lewis which was a limited edition print," said the artist.
"I pretty much hadn't done anything since."
Mr Bain said his inspiration returned after meeting the emergency doctor and he spent more than 200 hours on the artwork.
"I wanted it to say something so we nutted around a few ideas and I had the idea of the Superman thing.
"That came about from COVID last year, talking about the health industry workers being the true superheroes ... that's where the idea started from."
Mr Bain said the words written on the T-shirt under Dr Palipana's medical scrubs, which include 'mum', 'love', 'no limits', 'change' and 'diversity', came from the doctor.
"There was a whole bunch, but there was nothing I could leave out," the artist said.
"It's who he is, it's who he believes in so I made sure I could fit everything in there.
"The one name I couldn't get in there, which is the name we ended up naming the portrait, was Serendipity."
Dr Palipana, who works in the Gold Coast Health Emergency Department, said he was humbled by the finished painting.
"I love it, it's incredible. When I first saw it, it was such an emotional moment," he said.
Dr Palipana suffered a spinal cord injury during a car accident on Brisbane's Gateway Motorway in 2010.
The lawyer and disability advocate became the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland and the second person with quadriplegia to graduate as a doctor in Australia.
The emergency doctor said the word 'mum', written on the T-shirt and placed over his heart, has special significance.
"After I had the car accident she's been there for me every single day.
"She's taught me to be a strong, patient, persistent and loving human being and it's fitting she sits over my heart."
Inspiration
Dr Palipana said it was difficult to narrow down the words that appeared in the artwork but he wanted to include the word 'invictus'.
"The poem talks about how you are the master of your fate and the captain of your soul.
"The word 'invictus' means undefeated so that poem had so much meaning for me. It kept me going through the darkest times"
The artwork is now hanging at the Brisbane Powerhouse Museum.
The winner of the the Brisbane Portrait Prize will be announced on October 6.
