Lisa

 

Painting or drawing someone you know personally always feels a little different. With Lisa, I wasn’t simply trying to reproduce her appearance. I wanted to capture something of the person I know as my sister, while still creating a portrait that reflects the public personality people recognise from television.

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Working in graphite gives the portrait a simplicity that I really enjoy. Without colour to distract from the subject, the focus becomes light, shadow, expression and the small details that make a face distinctive.

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There’s also something quite nice about turning the tables on someone who is accustomed to being photographed and putting them on the other side of the artwork.

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For me, this is both a portrait of Lisa the television personality and, more importantly, a portrait of my sister.

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