Covid Portraits

Not being able to go to my studio on a regular basis due to the Pandemic I started making portraits at home of people I either knew or appreciated if not admired. Mainly ‘hero’s’, family or friends.

I’m a great fan of Paula Rego and have tried to use her technique of using hard and soft pastels separated by a spray of fixer. It’s a good technique for building up tonal changes and blending without rubbing two areas of colour together which can often kill an image.

Self portrait, pastel, 2020, 50 x 76cm
Gillian (RIP) and dogs, pastel, 2020, 50 x 76cm
Gillian, good neighbour, (RIP) pastel, 2020, 50 x 76cm

Richard, oldest friend, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Subhuti (Alex Kennedy) pastel, 2020, 50 x 76cm
Subhuti (Alex Kennedy) mentor and friend June 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm
Dhammarati (Ian Waddle) pastel, 2020, 50 x 76cm
Bhante Sangharashita (DP Lingwood) pastel, 2020, 50 x 76cm
Dr Bhimrao R. Ambedkar, Indian Law Minister, 2020,pastel 50 x 76cm
Suryagupta, Chair of the London Buddhist Center, 2020 pastel 50 x 76cm

Goya’s Priest and Old Woman + Danavira and me, Pandemic portraits, 2020, each 39 x39cm

Marlena, Goddess, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Marlena Dietrich, German actresses, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Dietrich, great German actress, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Dietrich triptych, 2020, pastel, each 50 x 76cm

Germaine Greer, Author, good time girl, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Christopher Hitchens, author, raconteur, 2020 pastel, 50 x 76cm
J. G. Ballard, author of speculative fiction. May 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Vanis Varoufakis, Greek Finance Minister and motorcycle rider, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Mahari Black, youngest Scottish politician in House if Commons 2020, 50 x 76 cm
‘My Old Dutch’, Remembrance Day, 2020. Pastel, 50 x 76cm
Maria, daughter, waiting for a bus, 2019, Vietnam. 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Anne, Maria’s Mum, 2020, pastel 50 x 76cm
Helen, partner, 2021. Pastel 50 x 76cm

Jinnah Mumtaz, best friend, 1947-1967 RIP, 2020, pastel 50 x 76cm

Joshua Wong, Hong Kong activist, 2020, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Yanis Varoufakis, Greek finance minister and occasional Marxist. 2020, pastel 50 x 76cm

Marc Carney, Rock and Roll Bank of England CEO, 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Suvannavira, the Russian refuge, 2021,pastel, 50 x 76cm

Jenya, Russian girl, 2021. Pastel, 50 x 76cm
COVIDMAN, 2021, Pastel, 50 x 76cm
Covid Johnson, 2020, pastel 50 x 76cm
Alan Turin, renowned computer scientist.
2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm
Edward Snowden, whistleblower.
Pastel, 2021, 50 x 76cm
Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez
aka la Pasionaria, 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm
Lyse Doucet, BBC war correspondent,
2021 pastel, 50 x 76cm
Greta gives a smile 2021, pastel, 50x76cm
Sonia Boyce. Black British artist- Narrative and Conceptual. 2021, pastel 50 x 76cm

Rembrandt van Rijn, a homage, 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm

Paula Rego, Queen of the pastel portrait, 2021, pastel 50 x 76cm

Augustus Rodin, The Burghers, Kiss, Thinker. 2021, pastel 50 x 76cm

‘Mr Natural’ (Robert Crumb), 2021, Pen and Pastel, 50 c 76cm

Tracy battles cancers, 2021, pastel 50 x 76cm
John Akomfrah, British artist and film-maker. 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm.
John Berger, Art critic happy seeing.
2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm
Voltaire, read ‘Candide’ 9 times so far.
2021 pastel, 50 x 76cm
Alexander Pope, 18th century satirist. 2021, pastel, 50 x 76cm.
Yuri Gagarin, USSR Cosmonaut, boyhood hero. Pastel, 2021, 50 x 76cm