My collection of portraits, created in various mediums.

I have loved drawing portraits since my early teens. I drew a lot from photos in old movie magazines, like Photoplay and Film Review, as there was no such thing as the internet back then. 

I always used to start by drawing the eyes, which I tended to draw too far apart. I have since learned to sketch out the head and that the space between the eyes is about an eye’s width. Most of my art then was done in pencil, but more recently I’ve challenged myself to try watercolour or acrylics. I hope you like them. 

David Bowie

Abstract portrait.

Acrylic on canvas.

Photograph by Markus Klinko

I’ve been a fan of Bowie since my teens and had drawn him many times back then. During lockdown 2020 I couldn’t decide what to draw, but the instant I saw the photograph I knew I wanted to paint it. I also knew I didn’t want to do a life-like portrait. I wanted to create a portrait that reflected Bowie’s ever changing music and colourful personas.

Grace Kelly

Abstract portrait. 

Acrylic on canvas.

The beautiful Grace Kelly, who reinvented her life from a Hollywood actress to becoming Her Serene Highness, the Princess of Monaco, in 1956. She made 11 movies, plus 2 documentary films and a German language film as herself, before giving up acting. She starred in 3 Hitchcock movies; Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief and showed her gift for comedy in the musical High Society. It’s a shame she gave up acting and a real tragedy she died at the age of 52 after suffering a stroke at the wheel of her car. 

Al Pacino

Portrait in white pencil and gel pen on black paper.

Photograph by Dan Winters

I was looking for a good subject to draw on black paper, something I’d never done before, and saw this brilliant shot of Al Pacino…BINGO!

There were a few moments early in the sketching process when I thought, “This isn’t going to work.”, then suddenly it all came together.

Al Pacino is one of the greatest movie actors of all time. My personal favourites are The Godfather Trilogy (obviously…and yes, I do include Part 3), Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Glengarry Glen Ross and Heat. There have been some dodgy films, but never a bad performance.

Agnes Obel

Watercolour on paper

Agnes Obel is a Danish singer, songwriter, and musician and the subject for this, my first purely watercolour portrait. It was so relaxing and enjoyable listening to her music whilst painting. I like how it turned out…what do you think?

Her first album, Philharmonics, was released in 2011 and she has since released the albums Aventine, Citizen of Glass and Myopia.

She has been described as "the architect of eerie, otherworldy music that straddles neo-classical, jazz and chamber pop". All I know is, I love her music, which you’ve probably heard on one of many TV shows it’s featured in over the last few years, most recently BBC’s Vigil.

Here’s one of my personal favourites, The Curse, from the Aventine album.