Original artwork description:

This is one of a series of portrait paintings I painted recently which use local Swansea people as my models. The people are everyday people who work in shops, the post office, cafes or people I meet on the street and simply want to paint as I like their faces.
I love the idea of painting common people as much portraiture traditionally is associated with the famous, rich or with status.
I liked to debunk that idea and make the ordinary, extraordinary.
I loved the reaction of the people painted when they saw their portraits. After all, it is not everyday than an artist paints one’s portrait. I hope I caught the essence, the inner dignity of all my subjects, of the beauty within us all. It was a special project.
The delight at watching a person’s face as hey first gazed on their own portrait made it all the worthwhile. I loved the incongruity of it.
This is a painting of a old lady, sitting calmly on her brilliant blue Mobility scooter in the middle of Swansea, reading the local newspaper, The Evening Post, and causally also watching the world drift by.
Her wrinkle-creased face is darkened by shadow as the brilliant early afternoon sun was reflecting on her white newspaper, draped on her handlebars. Her eyes were lively and intelligent.

Materials used:

oil on cotton canvas

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