And such an interesting journey it is.

Arriving from Cyprus with his parents and five other siblings, George attended Hawksburn State School and Prahran High before graduating in Graphic Design Art in 1979. He always maintained an interest in Australian history and the people who have shaped Australia.

His interest in portraiture grew essentially from a hobby to where he became an acclaimed portrait artist and a passionate supporter of those ex-servicemen whose family’s needed to have their sacrifices appreciated.

Understandably there were many touching stories and as part of George’s journey he became close to many of the descendants of these war time soldiers who helped him gain a very personal insight to the lives of those appearing in his portraits. In doing so, he reveals the impact these every day heroes have had, not only on the lives for whom they were defending at the time, but also how the story of their lives has influenced succeeding generations.

George has displayed an ongoing commitment to those he has met and other than receiving an OAM for Services to Visual Arts and Veterans he is also patron of the TPI’s (totally and permanently incapacitated ex service men) providing welfare for their families and their dependants. He has been able to develop a unique style of portraiture art that brings elements of lives to the fore with abstraction. 

He spoke about his book “The Art of Sacrifice” which contains  portraits of Victoria Cross awardees and also The Lost Diggers of Vignacourt, the latter  originating from some glass photographic plates discovered by a French historian in 2015. Some of the portraits feature wartime heroes who became everyday citizens after the wars but through George’s efforts their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

The Art of Sacrifice may be purchased directly from George whose website is georgepetrou.com.au. Proceeds from these sales will support our veterans.