Gallagher moved to Hikurangi six years ago and, with her husband's support, stopped working to paint fulltime.
"He said 'just do something you enjoy, do your painting'."
With limited time to meet the submission deadline, Gallagher used acrylic paints to depict a happy time shared with her sister, to whom she is very close.
"She has a farm in Warkworth, at the end of Hepburn Creek, and it's private there," Gallagher explained.
"We were swimming in her pool one day and needed to go down to the field to get some hay to feed the cows. We went on the quad bike wearing our gumboots and nothing else.
"I had my camera, so we set it up on the fence gate, figuring there was no one to see us so why not?
"It was unusual, and a bit risqué, so I decided to paint it," she chuckled.
Her sister was the first person Gallagher told the news about becoming a finalist.
"She screamed when I told her," she said.
Entries have been received from throughout New Zealand and from Kiwi artists based in the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Australia.
Gallagher said she was very happy to have such a positive outcome from her first-ever competition entry.
"I'm chuffed. Just chuffed," she said.
The winner of the competition and recipient of a $20,000 cash prize will be selected by the judges at the start of the public exhibition showcasing all finalists' works at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.
An additional prize of $2500 will be awarded to the runner-up, alongside another $2500 prize for the People's Choice - awarded at the end of the Adam Portraiture Award exhibition.
Reflecting on the 2022 entries, judge Linda Tyler, Associate Professor and convener of Museums and Cultural Heritage at the University of Auckland, noted the creativity and lightness in this year's entries.
"It's great to see some experimentation with the portrait format, and plenty of witty takes on the whole exercise of self-portraiture too," Tyler said.
When asked how she feels about the possibility of winning with such a fun image, Gallagher said she feels as though she already has.
"I think it was great to just get into the competition," she said.
The last time Gallagher won a prize for her art she was in preschool.
"I can't imagine winning. I'll believe it if it actually happens," she said. "Actually, to me, I've already won."
Gallagher plans to continue entering competitions, only with more time to work with her preferred medium of oils.
"I'll have another two years to give it thought, and I'll use oils next time," she said. "It's something to aim for."
The winning submission will be announced on Wednesday, May 26. The exhibition will run at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakata in Wellington from May 27 to August 14.
To view the full list of finalists and their works, visit: www.nzportraitgallery.org.nz
