Monday, July 14, 2025

Portrait Award 2025 - Artists with their paintings

The popularity of my "Artists with their Portraits" post every year - in relation to the Portrait Award Exhibition - is a great incentive to get as many pics as I can.

What my photographs help you to do - which the online gallery does NOT - is to see the size of the painting relative to the artist who painted it.

Inevitably, I don't manage to capture every artist. Although I've got most....

(Mainly, I think, because very many of the artists had not yet realised that the badge they get give to wear which says "artist" on it has a PURPOSE! ie. it enables all the journalists to recognise all those who have painted a portrait in the exhibition - so you can ask for a photo!)

At least this Press Preview morning was limited to the artists and their sitters and the press. Which was a HUGE improvement on past years where all the "hangers on" came along as well and well and truly got in the way.

So here are all the portraits of Artists with their Portraits. 
WARNING: This is A MAMMOTH POST and not a quick read. You will need sustenance to get to the end!

It provides:

  • my photo of the artist with their painting
  • LINKS for those who might wish to view/follow their work:
    • website links are embedded in the artist's name - followed by their Instagram site 
  • followed by text in quotes that has been written by somebody from information supplied by the artists but the author has included a few conclusions of their own and certainly has not understood all the words they used! See if you can work out which one I mean. The answer will be on Facebook in a few days
  • Summary of education and appearances in exhibitions etc.
The latter might give some insight to aspiring artists as to the level of education and experience of most artists who are selected. That said, some are self taught and for at least one artist, this is their first exhibition!

Last year I organised my photos and associated artists in groups by country they live in.  

This year I'm organising the artists into groups by the TYPE OF SITTER - as follows
  • Self Portraits
  • Portraits of Parents and Children
  • Portraits of Women
  • Portraits of Men
  • Portraits of Groups
The prizewinners come at the end of their relevant group.

Hopefully this will provide some insight into the very different ways people portray people who are "similar".

Self Portraits


I'm going to start with a couple of my favourites. The first is complex and needs three images! The second has a story behind it.

Shinji Ihara (Japan)


Light and Shadow By Shinji Ihara Oil on canvas, 2025
Light and Shadow (2025) By Shinji Ihara
Oil on canvas
(his self portrait appears in the shadow at the top - and....)

Shinji Ihara was in last year's Portrait Award with an absolutely stunning painting. He's returned this year with another one.

He's getting a special spot in this post because I think I'm going to be seeing him again (and again!). 
  • His paintings are always about stories and are rather like a puzzle and get more and more interesting as you study them. His colouration and tonal control are also amazing!
  • Last year he produced an an immaculate painting in terms of both story and the quality of the painting - where the focal point was a white cat which had just died.

His partner at the bottom of the stairs, holding a mirror

The self portrait of Shinji taking a photo
in the mirror in the hands of his partner
In Japanese artist Shinji Ihara’s portrait of his partner, the complex perspective places the viewer at the centre of a dizzying relay between artist and sitter. Inspired by Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait (1434) and created with a similarly meticulous and highly sophisticated technique, the painting is part of a long art historical tradition of using mirrors to examine spatial and human relationships.

About Shinji Ihara (Instagram)

  • Born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan in 1987; he currently lives in Hiroshima Prefecture.
  • Education 2010 - BFA in Oil Painting of Hiroshima City University;
  • 2012 - MFA in Oil Painting Materials and Techniques, Tokyo University of the Art
  • a close association with the Drawing Lab at Hiroshima has led to a number of opportunities
  • Exhibitions:
  • a number of solo exhibitions in Tokyo (with Ken Nakahashi) and
  • Since 2013, has has participated in a number of group exhibitions each year - including major group exhibitions in Asia and Europe.
  • Ihara was also previously selected for the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2024.

Pippa Hale-Lynch (UK)


The Echo – Self-Portrait (2024) by Pippa Hale-Lynch Oil on panel
The Echo – Self-Portrait (2024) by Pippa Hale-Lynch 
Oil on panel

This self-portrait has the quality of a doubly exposed photograph, or one that has slipped and smudged in the process of development. Hale- Lynch presents a distorted and ghostly image, expressing a fluid and dynamic artistic identity. Akin to much of Hale-Lynch’s work, this painting explores themes of solitude and grief stemming from the loss of her mother. The rendering of movement and visual obscurity reflects ‘the ephemerality of the human experience’.

About Pippa Hale-Lynch (Instagram)

  • b. 1992, she is a practicing architect and a contemporary figurative artist based in the UK. 
  • She uses techniques learnt from training in 19th-century representational drawing and over 12 years of practice. She creates paintings using oils with multiple transparent glazes, scumbling layers of paint and detailed brushwork.
  • She exhibits in various group exhibitions - but I'm very surprised she's not been snapped up by a gallery.
  • Her work has been seen in the annual exhibitions of:
    • the Royal Society of Oil Painters, 2023 and 
    • Bath Society of Artists, 2023. 
    • She was a finalist in the 17th International Art Renewal Center Salon, 2024 and Winner of The InsideArt Award and Figurative Category Semi-Finalist
    • She was awarded second place in the International Boynes Emerging Artist Award, 2021.
I saw Pippa's work in the ROI Exhibition in 2023 - and told her that she should very definitely apply for the Portrait Award Exhibition - and highlighted her in my review of the exhibition.  Some of you may remember this painting (below).  See what I mean?

My strong feeling is she will be back again - maybe with a bigger portrait next time?

Daydream by Pippa Hale-Lynch
oil on canvas; 135 x 84 cm (135 x 84 cm framed)
Still hasn’t sunk in that I will be seeing my own work hung at the National Portrait Gallery 🤯 something I’ve been working towards over 10 years and so delighted that it’s actually happening!


Comhghall Casey (Ireland)


Self-portrait (2024) By Comhghall Casey 
Oil on canvas
This self-portrait presents a jarring perception of physical proximity to the sitter, and exhibits a pronounced tactility within each texture – the weave of the hat, the hairs of the beard and the skin under the eyes. This painting by the Irish artist Comhghall Casey is part of an ongoing series that aims to record the physical and mental process of aging while also documenting his changing technique and style. Created over a period of months, Casey uses a mirror and direct observation to capture his portrait from life.

About Comhghall Casey ARUA (b.1976) 

Comhghall is probably one of the most consistent exhibitors in the Portrait Award left - given most of the rest have won the award and can no longer enter.  He neglects to mention he actually paints still life and typically only paints one portrait a year - his own self portrait (which is typically small) of which there are now quite a few. At some point in the future, a gallery is going to wake up to the exhibition opportunity this presents.

He was a young man when we first met. We won't speak about the reason he's now wearing a hat! ;) 
  • born in Co. Donegal in 1976. His family then moved from Ramelton in Co.Donegal to Omagh in Co. Tyrone in 1979.
  • Comhghall is pronounced as "Cole" as in Porter.
  • In 2000 he moved to Dublin where he has since been living and working.
  • completed a BA (Hons) in Fine Art (Painting) at Belfast College of Art. 
  • In 2017 he was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Ulster Academy.
  • He has exhibited in 
    • six solo shows at Solomon Fine Art, Dublin 
  • and in group exhibitions including 
    • Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions (2011-2013, 2016, 2019, 2020), 
    • the Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, Dublin (1999, 2001-2024) and 
    • the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2002, 2013, 2015, 2024.
    • he was selected for the 2019 Zurich Portrait Prize shortlist for an exhibition run by the National Gallery of Ireland 
Next portrait to the right is by.....

Archie Franks


Self-Portrait in my Andy Warhol Skull T-shirt (2024) By Archie Franks 
Oil on canvas
The thickly applied paint combines with the intense contrast between the clothing and background to provide a compelling formal compositional structure for this self-portrait. Inspired by Frans Hals’s Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas) (1626–8), the artist creates a contemporary instance of the traditional iconography of memento mori: a reminder of the audience’s mortality; the Andy Warhol t-shirt continuing the artist’s fascination with pop culture and the gothic. 

About Archie Franks (b.1986)

  • gained a BA (Hons) degree at the City and Guilds of London Art School 
  • followed by a post-graduate diploma at the Royal Academy Schools. 
  • His work has been seen in numerous group and solo exhibitions including 
    • the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in 2011, 
    • Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2013-14 and the 
    • Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 2018.

Rachit Khandelwal (India / Scotland)


The Sitter – Self-Portrait (2024) By Rachit Khandelwal 
Oil on canvas

A curious emerald green pervades every part of this unique self-portrait. Emerging from under the sitter’s slightly unkempt hair, and obscuring our view of his wide staring eyes, the colour is inescapable. Currently a student at Glasgow School of Art, Indian artist Rachit Khandelwal has presented a version of himself both anxious and introspective, ‘a state of mind that I often find myself in’, he writes. The strength of colour works at odds with the quietness of Khandelwal’s pose.
Written by a non-painter? Personally I'd call it Viridian.

About Rachit Khandelwal (Instagram)

  • b.2004 born in India
  • Currently living in Glasgow and studying at the Glasgow School of Art for a BA (Hons) degree in painting and printmaking. 
  • This is the first time his work has been exhibited beyond his school career.

Xu Yang (China / London)


Tangled Waves: Leda and the Swan with Tang Dynasty Style Make-up (2024) 
by Xu Yang
oil on linen

This large, dramatic painting resists easy viewing through the depth of the black tones and its sharp contrast with the mask-like, porcelain face. Chinese artist Xu Yang achieves such depth within her black paint through a mix of traditional pigments, such as ultramarine and madder. A product of cross-cultural influence, this recreation of the Greek myth of ‘Leda and the Swan’ visually connects the two protagonists through echoing the Tang Dynasty court-style red lips of Leda and the beak of the black swan. Using herself as a model, the artist aims to raise important questions about diversity and gender.

About Xu Yang (Instagram) (b.1996) 

  • born Shandong in China in 1996
  • now lives and works in London
  • undertook a BA (Hons) degree in fine art painting at Wimbledon College of Arts (2015-18) and then an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art (2020)
Her work is deeply rooted in an excavation of history, drawing on influences from the Rococo era, mythology, and her own Chinese heritage.
  • Her work has been seen in 
    • solo exhibitions in London including a commission for Tate Collective for LGBTQ History Month 2023 and in 
    • numerous group exhibitions in London, New York and Hong Kong. 
I rather think she also enjoys dressing up too.....

Moira Cameron - First Prizewinner (New York / UK)

Judges Comments on First Prize

This portrait grabbed the judges’ attention with its bold, non-naturalistic treatment of the figure combined with vivid colour and use of pattern. The technique has an energy, vitality and humour that contrasts with the introspective pose and expression of the subject, creating a compelling tension.

First Prize
A Life Lived (2024) By Moira Cameron
Oil on canvas,

Moira Cameron’s self-portrait marks a return to her independent artistic career, and her own solo exhibitions described by Cameron as ‘a reinvention’. The portrait is an evolution of a self- portrait made at art college. Cameron says: ‘The lines on my face, the subtle shadows, tell a story of time passing, of laughter and worry, of a life fully experienced.’

About Moira Cameron Instagram

  • b.1962 in London to a family of artists
  • BA degree in fine art painting at Ravensbourne College of Art 
  • followed by an MA in fine art at Chelsea College of Art. 
  • She relocated to New York with her husband, Pop artist David Spiller, where she created text and graffiti works. The couple returned to the UK and Cameron paused her own career to support Spiller until his death in 2018. 
  • Cameron then worked in collaboration with her son, Xavier, as Spiller + Cameron producing mixed media collages that were included in numerous group and solo exhibitions in the UK and USA.
  • she is now returning to make artwork on her own account and currently has an exhibition at the Long Sharp Gallery


Portraits of Parents and Children


There's a requirement to work from life when entering this competition. Which tends to lead to a number of portraits of those people who seem to spend time with you on a regular basis - your family! 

Only slightly less popular than the self portraits.

 

Yvadney Davis (South London, England)


Inset Day (2025) by Yvadney Davis
Oil and acrylic on canvas

About Yvadney Davis (Instagram) 

  • (b.1981) Caribbean heritage, brought up in South London
  • her art practice is rooted in working class Black British Caribbean heritage
  • foundation studies at Camberwell School of Art, UAL 
  • followed by a BA (Hons) degree in fashion design at Central Saint Martins. 
  • She has a studio in South London
  • Her work has been seen in group and solo exhibitions including Proverbs of the Windrush Child at Black Cultural Archives, London, 2023 and The Land Holds Secrets at Galerie Heimat, St Remy de Provence, France, 2025. 
  • She was a Semi Finalist in Portrait Artist of the Year - Sky Arts 2023
  • She was a finalist in the Women in Art Prize 2024.
A familiar domestic scene is the basis for Yvadney Davis’s compelling exploration of mother-daughter relationships. Inset Day captures ‘the duality of our emotions caught between love, duty and a need for space’. With a mischievous energy, the artist’s daughter scrambles over cushions on the back of a sofa. Davis, sat brightly dressed but weary, holds a strong gaze that confronts the viewer, expressing the weight of motherhood as imperative to, yet distinct from, the freedom of childhood.
Her portrait is one of the feature portraits used to promote the exhibition. It was the sole image on the formal invitation to the Awards Ceremony.

Matthew Midwood (Hull, UK)


Evelyn (2024) by Matthew Midwood
Acrylic on canvas

Matthew Midwood's portrait is of his daughter, Evelyn. 

About Matthew Midwood 

  • (b.1974); He lives in Hull, makes work in his studio and has been an active member of the artistic community in Hull since 2002
  • undertook foundation studies at Lincoln College of Art
  • followed by a BA(Hons) degree in fine art: painting at Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Art & Design. 
  • His work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions including those at the Kingston Art Group Gallery, Hull (2011-18).

The artist seeks to capture the intentionality within the tilt of the head and sideways glance, with which Evelyn returns her father’s gaze. Intrigue is noted within the portrait’s unfinished quality, and its provocative combination of figurative representation and abstract spatial composition.

His daughter in the portrait has one of those wonderful "daughter" faces - somewhere inbetween sucking in the cheeks and blowing them out when wanting to say something but choose not to use words.

Whether the artwork is figurative or abstract, what he strives for is something that looks real rather than just representation. In essence, he likes colour and loves drawing. (His website)

Simon Watkins (UK)


Claire (2025) by Simon Watkins
oil on canvas
The portrait depicts Simon Watkins’s wife’s grandmother Claire, who lives with dementia. Seated at a table and listening to music with closed eyes, the minimalist quality of the painting captures the still, calm of an inner moment. The work highlights the peace that music can bring to those with dementia. Watkins’s subtle and poetic portrait is a profound reflection on light, space and the process of aging.

About Simon Watkins (Instagram)

  • Born in London in 1988
  • From his studios in London and Hertfordshire, he now paints portraits and still
    • lifes.
  • Art Education 
    • gained a BA (hons) in the history of art at the University of York 
    • followed by studies at the Charles H Cecil Studios, Florence. 
  • His work has been seen in group exhibitions including those of 
    • The Royal Institute of Oil Painters (2016), 
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2017) and 
    • Figurativas at the European Museum of Modern Art, Barcelona, 2017.

Mick McNicholas (UK)


The Artist’s Mother (2024) By Mick McNicholas
The Artist’s Mother (2024) By Mick McNicholas 
oil on aluminium
The artist represents his 91-year-old mother, Joan. In recent years, Mick McNicholas has painted her at every visit, aware that their time together is short. The array of colours and vanishing hands synthesise into a loving yet wistful atmosphere. A wish to connect in a deep and lasting way motivates the creation of these paintings, with observation providing the means for generating a meaningful bond. McNicholas utilises sittings from life and candid photographic studies to create an authentic image.

About Mick McNicholas (Instagram)

  • (b.1963) Mick McNicholas is an artist living and working in Wokingham, UK.
  • undertook foundation studies Hugh Baird College of F.E. Bootle, Merseyside 
  • followed by an MA in electronic media at Oxford Brookes University. 
  • His work has been seen at 
    • the Venice Biennale 2024,
    • the Discerning Eye exhibition (2016, 2018, 2019 and 2023) and 
    • First Prize at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Portrait Event part of the ROI Annual Exhibition, 2023.
I found the overall posture of his mother to be one I'm sure a lot of sons and daughters of elderly parents will be familiar with.

Emily Stainer (South Africa/Australia)


Mikayla (2025) By Emily Stainer
 Oil on board
This portrait captures a youthful image of pose and play. With the soft colours in the floral crown, rich skin tones and flowing lines of the neck and face, this beautifully painted profile portrait represents Mikayla, a friend of Stainer’s daughter. Mikayla and Stainer’s daughter share roots in Southern Africa, have lived in several different countries and are now based in Brisbane, Australia. Influenced by Elizabethan miniature painting, the artist explores portraiture’s connections to belonging through the sitter’s identity.

About Emily Stainer (Instagram)

  • Born 1980 in South Africa, recently moved to Australia
  • gained a BA and an MA in fine arts at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 
  • followed by an MA in the history of art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. 
  • Her work has been seen in solo and exhibitions in South Africa, Australia and the UK
  • She has previously been selected for the Portrait award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2006, 2017 and 2024.
I've met Emily before in this exhibition at the NPG and her portraits of children are always small and superb! 


Portraits of Single Women


Roxana Halls

 
Dr Pam Hogg (2025) by Roxana Halls 
Oil on linen
Scottish fashion designer Pam Hogg collaborated with Roxana Halls when devising the pose for this arresting portrait. Dramatically displaying her favourite scissors, Hogg is dressed in a striking green jumpsuit set-off against a vivid red background with monochrome depictions of her designs. The artist aims to capture the sitter’s ‘fearless, inventive, and provocative’ style and express her admiration

About Roxana Halls  (Instagram)  

  • (b.1974) is a London-based figurative painter who is best known for her images of laughing wayward women who refuse to conform to society’s expectations.
  • She is a largely self-taught artist 
  • her website has an amazingly long list of exhibitions
    • she has held numerous solo exhibitions including at the National Theatre, South Bank, London and her first institutional exhibition, Die Augen der Roxana Halls was held at Haus Kunst Mitte, Berlin in 2023. 
    • Her work has been included in group shows internationally  
  • It is also held in the collections of the 
    • Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the 
    • National Museum of Science and Industry.
She has been widely praised for her draughtsmanship, wry humour and what art critic Brian Sewell called “the eerie narratives behind the portraiture.”
Roxana Halls' portrait of Katie Tomkins - Mortuary & Post Mortem Services Manager at West Hertfordshire NHS Trust has been acquired for the permanent collection of the SCIENCE MUSEUM as part of their Covid-19 Collecting Project. The portrait was selected from among over 15,000 Portraits for NHS Heroes worldwide to represent them. 

 Jamie Routley


Elle (2024) By Jamie Routley 
Oil on linen in an oval frame
An Old Master sense of quality and composition characterises Jamie Routley’s oval portrait of Elle. A blend of the classical and modern is echoed through the sitter’s contemporary, Asian-inspired silk ikat dress; while Elle’s low bun hairstyle draws ‘a quiet yet significant connection between Elle and her late paternal Korean grandmother, who used to wear her hair the same way.’ This is symbolic of the sitter’s pride in their Asian heritage displayed in this calm and confident portrait.

About Jamie Routley RP (Instagram)

  • Born in Newport, South Wales in 1982, Jamie Routley was educated entirely through the Welsh language at Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw
  • He lives in London with his wife and two daughters
  • Art Education
    • undertook a BA (Hons) degree in Illustration at Swindon College 
    • followed by studies at the Charles H. Cecil Studio, Florence (2004-2008) 
  • His work has been seen in numerous exhibitions including those of 
    • The Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020-25). 
    • In 2019 his self-portrait was purchased for the Ruth Borchard Collection in the Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize. 
    • He was previously selected for the Portrait Award at National Portrait Gallery in 2012 (winning the Young Artist Award), 2013 and 2020.
  • In 2022 he was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
  • He also serves as a council member of the Artists’ General Benevolent Institution (AGBI), one of the UK’s oldest charities
I didn't recognise this as being a portrait by Jamie Routley - maybe because it wasn't full length with an interesting dog or other interesting feature or quirk within the portrait! There again it's been an age since I saw an oval portrait....

Nathalie Beauvillain Scott


Maxine – Business Woman Wife Mother Nurse (2024)
by Nathalie Beauvillain Scott
Oil on canvas
This striking, hyperrealist portrait of Maxine, a nurse and businesswoman, creates a sense of direct connection between the subject and viewer. One in a series of portraits by Beauvillain Scott entitled Faces of Guildford, the work was originally conceived in recognition of Maxine’s many achievements, but as the sittings went on ‘I realised I really wanted the viewer to be able to perceive her strength, compassion and caring personality.’

About Nathalie Beauvillain Scott (Instagram) 

  • b.1971 in born in Fontainebleau, a little town near Paris. Began to live in the UK in 1993 where she has worked as a mural and portrait artist 
  • Studied at the Atelier de Sèvres - Babylone, Paris School of Art.
  • Her work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions in the UK including that of 
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2015) and 
    • previously in the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2004, 2010, 2012 and 2015.
Nathalie started the project Faces of Guildford 5 years ago resulting in several exhibitions in various locations in the the town centre. It included 16 oil portrait paintings and 14 pencil drawings of Guildfordians who have had an impact on the community in the past and the present.

What a great way of making a contribution to your community as well as marketing your skills as a portrait artist who can be commissioned locally!

Nelson Hernandez (Chile)


Ukrainian Girl (2025) by Nelson Hernandez
Oil on board
A female figure with her back to the viewer stands at a window, through which shines a wintry light illuminating individual strands of her light blonde hair. Chilean artist Nelson Hernandez’s spectral portrait of his Ukrainian friend, Kseniia, captures a brief moment in time: ‘I was moved by her stillness as she gazed out the window. Suddenly, the drawing in her hoodie evoked in me a scene of war, a metaphor of her past and the burden she carries.’ (Gallery text)
What Nelson thinks 
personally, I’d like to thank Kseniia for being the inspiration behind the work and for helping me bring it to life.
What I liked about this portrait is the very well designed composition and the fact it's a portrait with no face.

About Nelson Hernandez (Instagram)

  • Born in 1984, he is a contemporary Chilean painter currently living and working in London.
  • Art Education:
    • undertook a BA degree at the Faculty of Arts, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile 
    • followed by an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art, London. (see RCA2025: Postgraduate Show. Royal College of Art)
  • His work has been seen in numerous exhibitions in North and South America 
    • winning first prize in the Artespacio Joven BBVA Gallery competition, Santiago, Chile. 
    • In 2024, Hernandez undertook a residency at GlogauAIR, Berlin.

Richard Kitson (Yorkshire, UK)


Richard Kitson Portrait Award 2025
Alice IV (2024) by Richard Kitson
oil on canvas

Those familiar with what social media does to posts of women with no clothes on will know why Richard is standing as he is.
This is the fourth painting in a series of works focusing on Richard Kitson’s model and friend, Alice. Both an exploration of the sitter and the process of portrait making itself, the artwork creates a feeling of authenticity. Composed as the sitter naturally arranged herself in the studio, a sense of intimacy is given by the close focus and cropping of the torso. Kitson produced this portrait over a period of months, allowing him to ‘take in more information about my sitter as their moods differ during the various sittings.’

About Richard Kitson (Instagram)

  • (b.1981) Originally from Keighley, Yorkshire, a figurative artist now based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire
  • undertook a BA (hons) degree in fine art at the University of Leeds 
  • followed by an MA in fine art at Leeds Arts University. 
  • His work has been seen in exhibitions including those of 
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2020 and 2023), 
    • the Ruth Borchard Self- Portrait Competition 2011 
    • he was selected as a participant in the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2018 (the text in the exhibition has the wrong date)

Martyn Harris (West Midlands, England) - Third Prizewinner


Memories (2024) by Martyn Harris
Oil on board
During his time as artist in residence at the Art Yard Gallery, Martyn Harris noticed local resident, Gillian, who often spent time in there. After building a friendship with her, Harris asked if she would sit for a portrait. Gillian was a guest when the portrait was unveiled by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and though the image touches upon themes of loneliness, sorrow and the weight of time, both artist and sitter found their collaboration uplifting.

About Martyn Harris ARBSA (Instagram)

  • Age: 60+ Born in Halesowen; now lives in Cradley, West Midlands
  • Education: Mentored by W R Jennings (1927-2005) a respected landscape artist
  • Occupation: 
    • a portrait and landscape artist. He became a full-time artist eight years ago, 
    • following a career that included jobs as a mechanical engineer and draughtsman. 
  • Harris’s artworks have been 
    • exhibited regularly with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
    • selected several times for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ annual exhibition.
  • Previous appearances in this award: none

Portraits of Single Men


Most of the portraits in the National Portrait Gallery in London are of men on their own.

Brenda Zlamany (USA)


Two Dogs (Portrait of David Hockney
Inspired by Whistler’s Mother) (2024) 
By Brenda Zlamany
Oil on linen

About Brenda Zlamany (Instagram)

  • (b.1959) studied at 
    • Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine 
    • followed by S. W. Hayter’s Atelier 17, in Paris and 
    • the Tyler School of Art, Rome. 
  • Her work has been seen in numerous group and solo exhibitions in the USA and Europe.
  • She has been commissioned to make portraits for The Rockefeller University, New York, NY and the Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.
The portrait represents one of the most celebrated British contemporary artists, David Hockney. Brenda Zlamany has known Hockney since she modelled for him in the 1980s, this painting recalls a recent visit to the artist’s studio, capturing a moment of ‘quiet joy’. The title and composition reference the 1871 by James McNeill Whistler. With Maurice Payne’s etching Two Dogs (1998) on the wall, and Zlamany’s own self-portrait subtly reflected in the glass, the painting expresses ideas of community and shared history.
Her portrait was also picked by The Times as a highlight of the exhibition

Brenda told me the two dogs refer to both his etching of his two dogs Stanley and Boogie but also to the house shoes on his feet, which - in the US - are sometimes called "dogs". 

This is her self-portrait in the wine glass

PS She has a fascinating website - worth a look!

Brenda's self portrait in the wine glass


Kevin Kane (Glasgow, Scotland and London)


Lord and Master (2024) By Kevin Kane
Oil on board

About Kevin Kane (Instagram)
  • Kevin Kane (b.1969) - born in Glasgow
  • Education: BSc applied physics followed by an MSc applied statistics and is currently undertaking a BA degree in Contemporary portraiture at the Art Academy in Southwark. (making him one of my more unlikely portrait artists!)
    • He's exhibited in a number of group exhibitions. In 2024, these included Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Scottish Portrait Awards, Spectrum Art Fair, Miami, and the KKWEER Arts exhibitions (2022 and 2024).
Kevin has all the characteristics which suggest to me he'll be back again in future.
This striking portrait was created after the artist and sitter met at a charity event. ‘Immediately connecting over shared experiences as gay Catholics growing up in suburban Glasgow,’ Kevin Kane explores sexuality while referencing the artist and sitter’s Scottish connection through traditional wear and Scotch whisky. The books serve as ‘meaningful references to our common background and the stories that shaped us. 

Dide

Portrait of a Sculptor (2024) By Dide
Oil on canvas

This was one of the first portraits that shouted "look at me" when I started to tour the exhibition.
The surface of Dide’s portrait of the sculptor Laurence Edwards seems alive with a kinetic, electric energy. In a Realist style, but exhibiting Cubist influences, the painting is marked by a graphic use of colour. The complex spatial composition, from the background mirror to the looming boot in the foreground, creates a sense of disorientation. Responding to the sitter’s work and persona, the portrait incorporates maquettes of Edward’s sculptures and explores ‘the messy plaste splattered existence of artists in their studios’.

About Dide 

  • (b.1988) is an award-winning painter, poet and composer-soprano-violinist
  • however she only started to teach herself how to paint during a covid pandemic lockdown. 
  • I would call her a polymath. She won scholarships and grants to study music at the Royal College of Music JD and philosophy at the University of Cambridge. She has a first degree from the University of Cambridge and numerous awards for her non-art interests. She has also studied eight languages.
  • Her work has been seen in group exhibitions including those of the 
    • Society of Women Artists at the Mall Galleries, London - where she won the Young Artist award in 2023
    • the Royal Society of British Artist Rising Stars (2023 and 2024) at the Royal-Overseas-League, London and in 
    • competitions including the Women in Art Prize and the Aesthetica Art Prize.

Ashley Ogilvy (Cape Town, South Africa)


Call me Albie (2024) By Ashley Ogilvy
Oil on aluminium

In 1988, South African lawyer and anti-apartheid activist, Albie Sachs survived a car bomb assassination attempt, losing his right arm and the vision in his left eye. Sachs went on to help draft a new constitution for South Africa and was appointed a Constitutional Court Judge by Nelson Mandela, following the country’s first democratic elections. Ashley Ogilvy’s portrait depicts a flamboyantly dressed Sachs standing before piles of books and among some works from his own art collection.

About Ashley Ogilvy (Instagram)

  • b.1960 in. South Africa
  • initially trained as a graphic designer before studying fine art with teachers in South Africa, the USA, UK and France. 
  • Her work has been seen in numerous group exhibition in Cape Town and at the exhibitions in London of 
    • the New English Arts Club and 
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. 
  • She was a finalist in the South African Portrait Awards in 2017, 2019 and 2021 winning second prize in 2021 
  • She previously selected for the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2024.

Joshua Waterhouse RP (Somerset, UK)


James (2024) by Joshua Waterhouse
Oil on panel
This skilfully painted, hyperrealist portrait by Joshua Waterhouse is a quintessential trompe- l’oeil due to its meticulous detail. It is part of a triptych, which includes portraits of the sitter’s two brothers, Thomas and Matthew, as commissioned by their father. Head twisted to face the viewer, we see the reflection in James’ glasses, their direct gaze as if noticing the viewer walking by.

About Joshua Waterhouse RP (Instagram)

  • Born in Newcastle in 1989. Lived and worked in London for 10 years before moving to Somerset in 2024 with his wife and son. 
  • Art Education: Very much influenced by the Northern Renaissance. 
    • Foundation in Art & Design at Edinburgh College of Art
    • followed by studying Fine Art & French at the University of Aberystwyth, graduating in 2014 with a First Class Honours. 
    • Joshua also spent a year in Paris studying Art History at the Sorbonne (Paris IV).
  • His work has been seen in group exhibitions including those of 
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024) and
    • previously in the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2016.
His portrait is the third of a series done as a commission for a family. I saw the other two when they were exhibited at this year's annual exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Commissioned by the father, the mother was coming to the PV to find out what her husband had done - and that the third wasn't there because it was going to hang in this exhibition!

Owain Hunt (UK)


Figure in Blue (2024) by Owain Hunt
Oil on canvas

(Apologies for the weird lighting, not quite sure what went wrong with the photograph)
Dressed in a blue denim jacket and striped t-shirt, staring gently out at the viewer, Owain Hunt’s portrait of his old friend immediately expresses the deep sense of connection between artist and sitter. Painted over an 18-month period, the work explores themes of companionship. The deceptively modest portrait speaks to universal themes of the human condition, seen subtly in each individual, articulated brush stroke. The composition places the viewer opposite the sitter as if engaging in conversation; Hunt’s work is motivated by the human need to ‘invest deeply in relationships and have a shared lived experience’.

About Owain Hunt (Instagram)

  • b.1994, based in the UK is a self taught artist.
  • He has a BSc in economics from the University of Bristol and an MA in history. 
  • His work has been seen in the exhibitions of 
    • the Royal Society of British Artists winning the Rising Star Award (2019, 2021, 2023, 2024), 
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2019, 2020, 2023, 2024) and 
    • winning The New English Art Club Scholarship 2023.
  • His work belongs to private collections in The United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Australia and the United States.

Tallulah Hutson (London, UK)

Waiting in Shade (2024) by Tallulah Hutson
Oil on canvas
The portrait is central to Hutson’s series of works exploring ideas of vulnerability and challenging traditional notions of masculinity. The pressures of gender expectations are visualised in this large portrait through a pervasive and persistent uncertainty. Tensions travel across the canvas, and manifest in a series of internal contradictions: between the face and the pose, the flowers and the sitter’s boots, the light and the darkness.

About Tallulah Hutson (Instagram)

  • Born in 1996 and raised in London
  • Education:
    • undertook a Master’s degree in chemistry at the University of St Andrews, 
    • followed by painting training at Charles H. Cecil Studios, Florence, Italy. 
    • She is currently studying for an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art, London. 
  • Her work has been seen in a solo exhibition in London and group exhibitions in the UK and USA.
 

Ant Carver (East London, UK)


Old Friends or Familiar Faces (2025) By Ant Carver
Oil on linen
Old Friends or Familiar Faces explores the metaphor of the black dog and its contradictory symbolism: from a reference to bad omens or depression to a representation of belonging or guardianship. The sitter first modelled for Ant Carver in 2020, and has since ‘been a model that I’ve returned to repeatedly as my work has evolved.’ This portrait is based on a series of quick charcoal sketches, small painted studies, and experiments with composition and colour.

About Ant Carver (b.1991) 

  • undertook a BA (Hons) degree in fine art at Oxford Brookes University. 
  • he lives in Bow and works from a studio in Hackney Wick - the home of many artists!
  • His solo exhibitions, Look at the Mess We Made and All Alone in a Crowded Room were seen in London. 
  • His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in 2023.
  • He also paints amazing murals as commissions for large areas of blank wall!
Been visiting NPG since school trips and have always gone to see the Portrait Award show so it was amazing and a bit weird to see my painting there.
This is my pic of Ant taking a pic of his pic
- which can now been seen on his Instagram account

Thomas Arthurton (UK)


After the Concert (2025) By Thomas Arthurton
After the Concert (2025) By Thomas Arthurton
(on the right - with sitter Jacob Meining on the left)
Oil and charcoal on canvas
After the Concert was inspired by Thomas Arthurton’s love of classical music and represents Jacob Meining, violinist and leader of the Bruckner Orchestra in Linz, Austria. Seated and viewed from above, against a briefly sketched charcoal interior, the sitter adopts a complex pose embodying post- performance exhaustion. The work is filled with a sense of uncertainty, fragility and ambiguity, while the disjunction between his formal attire and pink trainers expresses both tradition and contemporaneity.

About Thomas Arthurton (Instagram)

  • b.1985 in Norwich
  • Education: 
    • studied art history at the University of York and the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. 
    • studied painting at the Classical Arts Academy, Florence and the Saint Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. 
  • His work has been seen in numerous international exhibitions including
    • the Summer Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts (2021),
    • the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2020-22) and in
    • the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London in 2020

Sofia Welch (UK) 


Sofia Welch
Sean After Brockhurst (2025) by Sofia Welch
Oil on board

This witty and charismatic portrait by Sofia Welch represents her fiancé Sean. Painted wearing a dark green velvet smoking jacket, shirt and tie, and set against an abstracted landscape, the sitter holds the viewers gaze with an intense stare. Stylistically evoking the ambience of 1930s, the painting was inspired by the evocative and uncanny portraits by British painter and etcher, Gerald Brockhurst.

About Sofia Welch (Instagram)

  • (b.1990) graduated from the London Atelier of Representational Art in 2024. 
  • Her work has been seen in 
    • the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2017, receiving the Young Artist Award, and 
    • the Royal British Artists Annual Exhibition 2017, receiving the De Laszlo commendation. 
  • Since graduating she has been selected for 
    • the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2024 and 
    • the Discerning Eye exhibition 2024.
  • she is also Director of Studies at the London Atelier of Representational Art and has  produced art work for the film and television industry, including large Netflix Productions such as The Witcher and Black Mirror.
I summed her up at the Selected Artists blog post stage as
Looks to me like one of those artists who has been doing consistently well for some time - without being shouty about it.

 

Finlay Trevor


Quest for The Mackintosh Man (2024) By Finlay Trevor
Quest for The Mackintosh Man (2024) By Finlay Trevor
Oil on board
While the country was in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, artist Finlay Trevor volunteered to help with the lambing on his local sheep farm in South Erradale in the Scottish Highlands. Quest for The Mackintosh Man is part of a larger body of work that documents life on the farm. Retired farmer, Willie Mackintosh, is depicted through woven brushwork of greys and browns in an expression of his thoughts on the land and the decline of the rural industry

About Finlay Trevor (Instagram)

  • (b.2003)
  • currently a painting student at Edinburgh School of Art - and exploring the world of those who work the land in a remote corner of North West Scotland.
  • His work has been seen in group exhibitions at
    • the Royal Scottish Academy and
    • the Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh.
Finlay was telling me about his sitter has a theory that he is related to a local Mackintosh person who owns rather a lot - and that when he died, he would then inherit the lot. Hence the title.

His degree show is worth a look.

 

Michelle Liu (USA/UK) - Young Artist Award winner

Young Artist Award:

The judges thought this was a beautifully rendered and sensitive portrayal of the
sitter, technically accomplished but also full of feeling. The portrait has a compelling calmness, but details such as one slightly raised eyebrow hints at the subject’s interior life.
Kofi (2024) by Michelle Liu (pictured with her sitter)
Oil on canvas
Michelle Liu attends weekly drop-in sessions at Big Turtle Studio, London, where she painted occasional life-model Kofi alongside her fellow participants over the course of three Saturdays. As a young artist, Liu says of the communal sittings ‘My progress has come on in leaps and bounds since I have had a community of artists around me to share techniques, tips and critiques.’

About Michelle Liu (Instagram)

  • (b. 1993) Recently relocated to the UK from her native USA,
  • Works in technology 
  • Interested in art since her teenage years at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. 
  • She remains a long-distance member of the Salmagundi Club, a New York City exhibition and meeting space for representational artists and continues to study the work of earlier figurative artists. Liu’s work has been included group exhibitions in the UK.

Tim Benson (England, UK) - SECOND Prize Winner

Judges Comments - Second Prize

The judges were impressed by Benson’s expressive and sculptural use of paint to build a likeness. They felt that the intense focus on his sitter’s face, the dignity bestowed on the sitter and the celebration of difference, combined with the over life-size scale, creates a powerful encounter.

Cliff, Outreach Worker (2024) By Tim Benson
Oil on canvas
For Benson, portrait painting is about storytelling and chronicling experiences. This large scale portrait of London outreach worker Clifford Dobbs was painted as part of a series of paintings depicting people with facial differences. Cliff’s jaw was broken when he was a child and was never re-set, resulting in his facial difference. Painting Cliff gave the artist the opportunity to challenge historical notions of beauty in portraiture whilst also advocating for the destigmatisation of facial difference.

Due to the sitter’s busy schedule, the portrait was made from sketches and photographs taken in Cliff’s office, as opposed to Benson’s usual process of a single four-hour sitting. Benson works quickly and uses a limited palette, painting straight to canvas with a wide, flat brush that prevents excessive detailing and allows him to ‘sculpt’ the facets of the sitter’s head in thick oils with as few brush strokes as necessary.
You can see a pic of tim with his sitter in Moira Cameron wins the £35K HSF Kramer Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery 

About Tim Benson (Instagram)

  • Age: 47 (b. London 1978 and lives in London
  • Art education: Middlesex University,
    • Glasgow School of Art, and
    • Byam Shaw School of Art.
  • Occupation:portrait and landscape artist;
    • Past President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in London;
    • Portraiture Tutor - Royal Academy of Arts.
  • He has won international commissions and taken part in various group and solo exhibitions. 
  • Previous appearances in the Portrait Award: 2012, 2020 and 2024.
 

Portraits of Groups 

Lucille Dweck 

I was very fortunate to get a photo of the next artist with her two sitters Ollie and Orlando.

Ollie and Orlando (The New York Couple) (2024)
By Lucille Dweck 
Oil on linen
The symmetry and contrast of this carefully composed portrait expresses the nature of the relationship represented. Lucille Dweck’s Ollie and Orlando (The New York Couple) pictures her two friends hand in hand, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. The couple are dressed in blues and blacks, visually striking against the red wall. Inspired by the couples love, Dweck ‘had a very strong compulsion to make this painting’. She seeks to express a message of unity in a time of social and political division.

About Lucille Dweck (Instagram) 

  • b.1963 she specialises in painting water, people and seascapes.
  • Education
    • Foundation Course at St Martins School of Art 
    • Byam Shaw School of Art 
    • she has also taught at Byam Shaw School of Art and other arts schools
  • Her work has been seen in numerous exhibitions internationally
  • she has also won various awards 
  • you can find a Jackson's Art Interview with her - in which her portrait features as it won the Judges Choice Award.
I feel that in my portraits I want to express the unique message my sitter holds within them. It is a particular communication that I hope will resonate with the viewer.
What comes next? 

The next blog post is about the 10 portraits I like best - plus some analytics but I'm going back to visit the exhibition again before I write that one.

Below are the rest of the Artists with their Portraits blog posts (2015-2024)
Below that are ALL my past blog posts about the Portrait Award going back to 2007
 

Artists with their Portrait Paintings

I've been doing a post about artists with their portrait paintings since 2015 - except there were no posts when there was no exhibition due to the Gallery closure for refurbishment.

REFERENCE Previous posts about the Portrait Award 2007-2025


Many of the portrait artists selected for the exhibition commented that they'd found out about the exhibition, its background and how to do well by reading my blog posts and looking at past exhibitions in the posts below.

These are all my previous blog posts going back to 2007 about this competition
HFS Kramer Portrait Award 2025

HFS Portrait Award 2024


BP Portrait Award 2020 

(this was VIRTUAL EXHIBITION ONLY because of Covid)

BP Portrait Award 2019

BP Portrait Award 2018

BP Portrait Award 2017

BP Portrait Award 2016

Clara Drummond - Winner on 2016

Portrait Award 2015

BP Portrait Award 2014

BP Portrait Award 2013

Susanne du Toit - Winner 2013

BP Portrait Award 2012


Aleah Chapin - Winner in 2012

BP Portrait Award 2011

BP Portrait Award 2010

BP Portrait Award 2009

BP Portrait Award 2008

BP Portrait Award 2007

Posted by Making A Mark on Monday, July 14, 2025
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