Delighted to be given the Karin Walker award by the SWA for my portrait of The Sybil.
The painting of The Sybil was conceived in Florence at the prestigious Charles H. Cecil Studios whilst I was an instructor there. I was fortunate enough to study directly under Charles for several years from the age of eighteen; he fostered my love for traditional oil portraiture exemplified by Velazquez, the 18th Century British School painters, and Sargent.
Working alongside the Assistant Director of the Studio, Sam Good and I discussed creating a work that would reflect on the climate crisis. This was a real concern for artists at the studio, and we have since been shaken by a pandemic; another crisis arguably related to humanity’s toxic relationship with our world and climate. The idea of a prophetess, with mythological gravitas was conceived to foretell our demise lest we change our ways – a Sybil. Sofia Andrea Faralli was chosen to model, the visible strength of her personality being crucial to show the importance of this prophetess and of her warning.
More important than the concept, however, was the painting itself, making a world within the canvas creating a strong composition of head and figure to form an arresting portrait with a beautiful flow of light. Following the classical methods used by the British School, by painters such as Sir Joshua Reynolds or Sir Henry Raeburn, I always place the canvas next to the sitter and observe both from a distance to gain a sense of proportion and impression. Thus taking both canvas and sitter in as a whole, I then close the distance to paint this impression on the canvas, building up the portrait over a period of weeks. By the end of the painting I have generally worn a path in the carpet! Another important aspect of my approach is to always work from life and only under natural light. The shimmer of natural light as it shifts over the form is so beautiful.
