Portrait Artist of the Year - Series 9 Episode 6
Portrait artist of the Year 2022 - Series 9, Episode 7
I submitted my self-portrait expecting no more than a polite decline. When I received the phone call from the production team, accepting my submission, you really could’ve knocked me down with a feather!
My painting technique was in sharp contrast to what was needed on the day. I normally paint in thin layers, in bite-sized timescales of fifteen / forty-five minutes, to an hour at most. Normally my deliberation, before I start working on a piece, could take as much as four hours!! It was a daunting challenge, but I couldn’t walk away from such a massive opportunity.
The day of filming arrived and my nerves about the people I might meet, was soon put to rest. My fellow contestants were great. We all jelled and honestly, there wasn’t a single sharpened elbow to be found in the Green Room. The production team, hosts and judges, all faced at least a fourteen-hour day, but still managed to make us feel special and valued.
Our sitter was the Para-Olympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds. She came on to the set with a beaming smile, she was so personable. Her diary was placed next to her on a plinth. She explained that she uses the diary every day, and has done for many years. The diary helps recall memories of not only her achievements on the world stage, but her everyday life. It was leather bound and looked very masculine, but as she was talking about it, I could see how important it was to her, so it was important to me.
There was little time to deliberate on composition. Me being me, wanted to include aspects of the portrait that would resonate, unfortunately the list was endless. I asked Ellie to pose with the diary on her lap for a short time, so it would take a central position in the composition. I also wanted to include, to the furthest extent possible, the colour blue, her favourite colour, a signifier for her, of all she's achieved in the pool.
But these elements didn’t seem to be enough for me. Ellie, was surrounded by cameras and crew, artists and an audience. She was sat very much apart from us on set, in that simple black chair. I wanted to capture that isolation in a full length pose. One of my sons is disabled and so I wanted to show that Ellie was a Para Olympian not only through talent , but also through her drive and commitment to be the best despite, societal bias and prejudice.
I started with energy, but by the halfway point, my prospects were starting to look bad. Not long after, Tai pulled up a seat to have a word with me. My heart sank. Whilst he was settling himself down, I sensed a gathering behind me, the audience and, crew. All those eyes would be looking at what I hadn’t done!
Tai’s advice was given politely but firmly. It was what I needed. I placed rocket boosters at the end of my brushes and started to paint with gusto. Later I was told that from behind, I looked like a painter and decorator short of time. I’d never painted so fast in all my life.
Viewing the piece now, I have very mixed feelings. The composition includes all the elements I’d envisioned, but more time was needed. However, I’m not regretful, my approach didn’t fit the criteria to progress to the semi-finals, but it did showcase a sense of what I believed to be important in a portrait. I probably provided a little tension and entertainment for the audience too.
Would I do this again?
In a heartbeat!!!
“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough”