Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Older People)

This is my second post about artists selected to exhibit at the HSFK Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. 

This post is about portraits of Older People.

Other posts are:

• Portraits of Children (and Parents)
• Portraits of Older People (this post)

COMING SOON: to be published

• Self Portraits
• Portraits of Women
• Portraits of Men
• Portraits of Groups

This NEW APPROACH also allows people intending to apply next year to look at what got selected this year in relation to one of these groups. You get to check out style and proficiency!

I'm also posting larger images to my Making A Mark Facebook Page with shorter profiles.

My photographs were taken at the Private View and Press View associated with the opening of the exhibition back in June.

Portraits of Older People

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

• Three of the four artists shown below have known their subjects for very many years. In two instances they are painting parents.
• Two of the four portraits below include two people. It's unusual for a portrait selected for this competition to involve more than one person - although that might say more about what is submitted rather than what is selected. 
• It's not unusual for there to be paintings of older people in this competition and those who paint older people seem to do well. 

The first portrait in this post is by the second prizewinner, Chloe Cox - who painted two people she did not know before she painted them! Just to prove that an observed association does not always apply!

Chloe Cox

Judges Note: Second Prize 

Chloe Cox's "What's Mine is Yours" is a beautifully painted and life-affirming double portrait, notable for its exceptionally accomplished technique and sensitivity of handling. 

The judges were particularly struck by the sense of joy and uplift that the work conveys, as well as the palpable connection and love between the sitters.

What's Mine is Yours

Oil on canvas (2024)

90 x 60 cm | 35.4 x 23.6 in

© Chloe Cox

Chloe Cox (b.1997) is a self-taught artist who studied English literature with creative writing. She was invited by His Majesty the King to create a new portrait for the Royal Collection Trust for the exhibition Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation, seen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the National Portrait Gallery, London (2023-24). She was included in the Jackson's Art Prize 2025, winning the People's Choice Award.

This portrait is of two people that Chloe Cox did not know. 

She was invited to take part in the BBC television series Extraordinary Portraits and this led to Chloe Cox being paired with Marva and Lionel Warmington to create their portrait. 

The couple have fostered more than 200 teenagers over the past 30 years, providing culturally sensitive care for vulnerable young people from a variety of backgrounds. Cox was filmed meeting the Warmingtons for their sitting as their conversation helped her decide on a format for the portrait. She says: 

'What struck me most was the balance between Marva and Lionel as a couple. She is more outgoing and full of ideas. He is the quiet, steady presence. I felt the portrait needed to show that harmony. Their love story hasn't just sustained their marriage, it has created stability and belonging for hundreds of young people."

The emotional content of the relationship between these two individuals also reads extremely well - and is unusual in the context of this competition. Question: Do you need two people to convey emotional content?

Also, I note from the photo above that the heads are both close too life size, maybe a tad larger, which means on the wall they "speak to you" very easily.

In addition to the Judges Comment above, I think the Judges may well have also been rather impressed by her handling of their heads, hair and their hands. So here's two close-ups that I took!  I also thought the careful consideration given to the tonal palette was very helpful. Nothing jarred the eye.

Marva and Lionel Warmington - Heads
from

What's Mine is Yours

Oil on canvas (2024)

90 x 60 cm | 35.4 x 23.6 in

© Chloe Cox

Marva and Lionel Warmington - Hands
from 
What's Mine is Yours

Oil on canvas (2024)

90 x 60 cm | 35.4 x 23.6 in

© Chloe Cox

TIP - Be sure to pay particular attention to the skin of older people and their heads and hands. Heads, hair and hands are basics which you must get right. Those grey hairs, saggy bits and wrinkles have all been hard earned over the years and deserve to be rendered both faithfully and sympathetically - which Chloe did extremely well!

I'm not in the least bit surprised that Chloe Cox was a prizewinner. She deserved it. After the third prize announcement, I really did not know which portrait was going to get the top prize.

Rosie Phillips

Portrait Award 2026 - Artists with their paintings (Children and Parents)

Posting my photographs of artists with their portraits selected for the the HSFK Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery is an absolutely mammoth exercise. This year I confess I found it daunting!

I've been doing photos of the artists with their portraits in the Portrait Award exhibition for very many years - and it's not a post I want to give up on doing. However this year 

• I took more photographs than ever more 
• and was posting in the June Heatwave which then became the July Heatwave - so starting this post has been somewhat daunting for me as I don't function at all well in heat (I've no thyroid and the medication for normal times does not seem to be so effective in constant very hot weather)

That's why why I've taken so long to start it in this heatwave which has been running since the exhibition opened!

In the end I've decided to go with the same format as last year - which has been amended to make it more manageable.  Each group now gets its own post 

1. Portraits of Children (and Parents)
2. Portraits of Older People
3. Self Portraits
4. Portraits of Women
5. Portraits of Men
6. Portraits of Groups

This also allows people intending to paint a subject akin to one of those groups to look at what the competition which got selected looked like this year.

I'm also posting larger images to my Making A Mark Facebook Page with shorter profiles.

The profiles are part based on those developed for my two former posts and part based on the labels in the gallery

• Selected Artists (Part 1: A-H) for The Portrait Award 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery
• Selected Artists (Part 2: I - Y) for The Portrait Award 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery

You can vote for the People's Choice Award at the Gallery and also online.

The exhibition continues at the National Portrait Gallery until 7th October 2026 - and then goes on tour.

Portraits of Children (and Parents)

One of the things I noticed about this year's exhibition was how many more portraits there were children and parents. There are eight portraits of children (and parents) in total in the exhibition.

I'm used to seeing the odd child but not this many. Interestingly 

• they make for some of the most relaxed looking portraits
• they also seem to be connected to the artist wanting to record forever a time that is passing - which is a jolly good reason for a portrait

TIP: Note that, with the exception of one portrait, the artist is painting their own child / children.

Adebanji Alade

Copycats, 2025 by Adebanji Alade
© Adebanji Alade

Adebanji Alade PROI - (First Time Exhibitor) B. 1972 in Nigeria. He did an HND

in fine art at Yaba College of Technology, in Nigeria followed by a diploma in portraiture at Heatherley's School of Fine Art, London.

Adebanji is a professional artist, teacher, author and television presenter (BBC One Show). He has a studio on Lots Road in Chelsea, London. He is also the founder of The Addictive Sketcher movement, seen on television and in books. His work has been seen in numerous exhibitions including the annual exhibitions of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (2007-2026) and he is now the current President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. 

I first met Adebanji years and years ago. I think I've known him almost as long as I've had this blog! I've also seen this portrait before - and I think it's wonderful. It was exhibited at the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters last November and it just blew me away.

His family have always been a very big part of who Adebanji is and this is a really great record of his two kids painting with him at home when they were small.

The viewer's eye darts across the canvas, delighting in details such as the translucent drapes, the glossy reflection on the television screen and the range of colour cluttered across the domestic interior. Portraying himself and his children engrossed in the act of painting, Alade 'reveals how children copy their parents, whether good or bad, they are copying what they see more than what they are told!'

I expect his next submission to be of his lovely wife!

 

Frances Bell

 

HEADS UP - HMRC Self Assessment: Payment on Account due 31 July

I find that tax is a matter that few artists become expert on as they are starting out - or sometimes at any point of their careers!

This is a HEADS UP for British artists! If you are 

• EITHER: self-employed as an artist 
• OR are employed AND earn more than £1,000 from your art, 

then you have a tax payment coming up! 

The deadline for your second payment on account is 31 July each year

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requires individuals to make advance payments towards their next tax bill if you are self-employed or have untaxed income. (HMRC - Payments on Account)

How do "payments on account" work?

Payments on account based on your estimated tax bill and are 

• advance payments towards your next Self Assessment tax bill (including Class 4 National Insurance if you’re self-employed).
• split into two equal instalments due each year on 
• 31 January (final payment for previous year plus payment on account for current tax year) and 
• 31 July 
• Each payment is worth 50% of your previous year's total tax bill

So if you completed and submitted your HMRC Self Assessment Form by 31st January this year, then you know how much you paid in tax and hence how much you have to pay (ie half of less years' bill)

How payments on account are calculated

• Payments on account are calculated based on your estimated earnings (usually the amount you earned the previous year). Each payment is usually half of the tax you owed the previous year.
• If you actually earn more than estimated, you may still have tax to pay on top of your payments on account. This is known as a ‘balancing payment’.
• If you earn less than estimated, you may be able to claim a tax refund. (HMRC - Payments on Account)

Am I automatically exempt?

However, you are automatically exempt if either of the following apply:

• Your last Self Assessment tax bill was £1,000 or less
• 80% or more of your total tax is already deducted at source (e.g. through PAYE on an employment income)

If your income has dropped, then you can apply to reduce these payments via 

• your HMRC Online Account 
• or by submitting form SA303 to HM Revenue and Customs

How to pay HMRC

They spent a lot of money developing the HMRC app
- and they're rather keen you should use it

TIP Speaking personally, the only way I ever make a tax payment is via a device which allows me to print off the payment details and create a PDF for my tax files.

That way you then have a precise record of the date and time you made the payment - and how - should there be any dispute

You can pay HMRC via

• Direct Debit
• Approve a payment through your online bank account
• Make an online or telephone bank transfer
• By debit or corporate credit card online
• At your bank or building society
• By cheque through the post
• Pay weekly or monthly
• Through your tax code

REFERENCE

My "Art Business Info for Artists" website

• UK Tax Tips for Artists - Tax Tips for Artists | Art Business Info for Artists

HMRC

• Self Assessment - Includes filing, deadlines, pay and tax records | HMRC


• Paying your tax bill
• Pay your Self Assessment tax bill
• Understand your Self Assessment tax bill
• If you cannot pay your tax bill on time

Diploma Graduates Exhibition at the Heatherley School of Art

I was at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in Lots Road, Chelsea yesterday evening for the PV of the Diploma Graduates Exhibition.

You can visit this for free between now and Sunday afternoon (10.30am-4.00pm) at the School at 75 Lots Road, London, SW10 0RN. The nearest tube is Fulham Broadway and then it's an approx. 12 minute walk - right past the entrance to Chelsea Football Club!

I'd been invited by Sarah Jane Moon (who teaches there) to come and see what those following the Portrait Diploma Course had been producing. There are also other courses exhibiting their work. 

I often come across Heatherley graduates doing well in other exhibitions and art competitions so I made the trek from East to West London!

You can 

• see some of my photos from the show on my Facebook Page
• find out more about the courses on the website

I was very impressed by four of the artists who were producing portraits which looked like they will be followed by even better in the years to come.

As it happens they were all women!

One of the very interesting aspects of Heatherley's is the number of middle aged women students it attracts - which I find a very refreshing aspect of its student body.

Akiko Saiko with me
Her portrait had been commended by Andrew James RP

Standout artists for me were:

• Akiko Saiko (above) who has a very refined approach to painting a portrait which reveals the tonal light and shade and hence the form - which was something of a weakness in some of the portraits by some other artists. I also really liked her profile text which was engaging, simple and direct. That's the kind of effective communication which gets through to the most people. She does however need a website!
• Amy Roberts is a former fashion designer who works primarily from observation. She is very obviously not phased by either large groups, complex compositions or more complex dress. I've been waiting for somebody brave enough to take on group portraits for a long while - and it looks as if we might have somebody at long last!

Amy Roverts won the Worlds End Studio Prize with this group painting

• Marlies Forster (Instagram) - who last year won The Composition Prize 2025 awarded by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and consequently had her painting hung in the RP Annual Exhibition

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Forster London Art (@forsterlondonart)

• I also really liked Janet Marsh's Holbeinesque self? portrait of a women with a squirrel (see my blog post The King's Painter: The Life and Times of Hans Holbein by Franny Moyle for the original) which won the Susan Engledow Portrait Prize

By Janet Marsh

Note to the School: Please update your galleries with the artwork from the show so it's online at the same time as it's on show at the school. Everything on the website seems to relate to 2025.

PS My five year old post about Favourite Quotes about Portraiture has been attracting a lot of visitor of late - so I'll include it here as well to share the love some more!

Major LS Lowry Exhibition in the autumn

There is to be a major exhibition of the paintings of LS Lowry in the Autumn. 

The exhibition L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life marks the 50th anniversary of Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887 – 1976) and opens at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes in October.  It represents a culmination of a nationwide celebration and features over 140 works, including A Football Match (1932). 

• The new exhibition is the first major career survey of his work in over a decade. In addition to iconic “matchstick men” industrial scenes, the showcase will explore lesser-known works such as portraits and surreal pieces. 
• a rare overview of his career, bringing together lesser-known aspects of his practice, including pencil and charcoal studies from the antique and life, detailed urban drawings, and works in pastel and watercolour that reveal the breadth of his practice (MK Gallery)
• A key theme of the exhibition is a re-examination of the myths that grew around him, situating his life and career within the wider transformations of twentieth-century Britain, as the mills, terraced streets and working communities he depicted were bombed, cleared and replaced.

L.S. Lowry, Our Town (1943). Oil on canvas.

Purchased from the artist, 1944.

© Touchstones Rochdale, Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service.

Basics: 

• L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life
• When: 24 October 2026 – 28 February 2026
• MK Gallery, 900 Midsummer Boulevard, Milton Keynes MK9 3QA
• Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm. Closed Mondays
• You can book tickets on the MK Gallery website.

L.S. Lowry: The Theatre of Life is also accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

Why people like Lowry's art