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 they first gazed on their own portrait made it all the worthwhile. I loved the incongruity of it.

This is a painting of Izzy, a waitress who was more than happy to model and pose for this painting. Izzy is quite tall so the sun light pouring in though the side window, seemed to illuminate her face, partly on both sides, running along her chin and jaw. This made her look light and illuminated, an affect heightened by her bright, fullsome smile. A great model.

Materials used:

oil on cotton canvas

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