Most of the works depicted on this site have been exhibited at various exhibitions and galleries including The Royal Academy of Arts, Beaux Arts (London and Bath), The National Portrait Gallery, and at Waterhouse and Dodd (London), and have been acquired by private or public collections including:
The National Portrait Gallery, London
The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath
The House of Lords Collection of the UK Parliament
The former Scheringa Museum, Netherlands
Awards include:
The National Portrait GalleryPortrait Prize
The Holburne Contemporary Portrait Prize
The Royal Society of Portrait PaintersChanging Faces Award
Film director Wes Anderson approached me in 2012 to paint a fictional Renaissance portrait to be titled ‘Boy with Apple’ for his next film, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
The plot pivots around the theft and recovery of a priceless portrait by Renaissance master Johannes Van Hoytl. Intrigued by the script and surprised to hear that he intended to commission a real portrait, I decided to come onboard.
For inspiration Wes bombarded me with a bewildering selection of images by Bronzino, 17th Century Dutch painters, Durers, all kinds of stuff, even some Tudor portraits. I found this terribly confusing at first until I realized that each image contained some required element that had to be worked into the painting. He clearly knew exactly what he wanted; it was just that nothing quite like it yet existed. It was an irresistible challenge.
Ed Munro, a stage school student, was cast as the sitter. Costumes were chosen and props hired (I provided the apple) and we started what was to be many weeks of work in Hanford School, a wonderfully atmospheric Jacobean manor house near my home in Dorset.
Wes had very bravely left me alone to work on the painting for a couple of months, but as the start of filming approached we began the final work on it together. Collaborating on a picture was new territory to me, but his extraordinary attention to detail (“ the little bit of paper on the wall?…..yes, yes we must have the little bit of paper!”), good humoured patience and faith in his script somehow made it all come out right.
The frame also needed to be attended to carefuly, so after discussing various style options with Wes, I took the picture to my framer Philip Elletson in Pewsey, and asked him to make a gessoed, gilded, and hand-painted antique frame. He did a truly wonderful job—using woodworm-riddled wood and antique brass rings.
I thoroughly enjoyed the finished film. It is funny, strange, rather dark, and it goes like a train from start to finish. I can heartily recommend it!
The Grand Budapest Hotel opened the Berlin Film Festival to very good reviews, and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. It will go on general release from 7th March [2014].
We found a wonderful English portrait painter named Michael Taylor who started from scratch and drew on all his powers.
Wes Anderson (Director of The Grand Budapest Hotel) Reported by Meghan Dailey in Sotheby’s Blog.
Images reproduced courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
That was a jumping off point for Wes. I remember it was one of the first things he needed done, and he found an amazing artist and he basically commissioned this. It’s exquisite in person, and Wes would keep it in his wonderful apartment. It was an inspiration to him I think.
Robin L. Miller (Prop Master on The Grand Budapest Hotel) referring to ‘Boy with Apple’ Reported by Ashley Hoffman in PAPER magazine
I am pleased to announce that I am now represented by Portland Gallery, London and will be showing new works with them in June next year.
This is a happy development for me having worked with Jamie Anderson for sixteen years at Waterhouse and Dodd before he moved to be director of Portland, so he is already aware of all my quirks and foibles. I now look forward to working with the team at the Gallery which is nicely situated just off Piccadilly at 3 Bennett Street, London SW1A 1RP.
Portland Gallery are leading dealers in Modern and Contemporary British art. Their two-floor gallery in St James’s hosts up to fourteen exhibitions a year; largely solo presentations of work by their represented artists and estates. Throughout the history of the gallery, their exhibition programme has concentrated primarily in representing the best modern and contemporary figurative artists working in traditional media. In parallel, Portland are dealers in abstract paintings and sculptures by some of the most prominent figures of 20th century British Art.
I shall be exhibiting Caroline with Pine Cone for the first time at this year’s Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition at Mall Galleries, London. Being a lockdown project, it represents one of the few times I have painted Caroline as herself, which explains it’s particular intimacy.
This year’s show will be opened at the private view by Andrew Graham-Dixon and runs from May 4th-14th.
Along with the usual members portraits there were over 3500 entries from all over the world to the open selection this year, so making the final selection from them was a particularly challenging task, but has resulted I in a very dynamic and interesting exhibition. Do go along and see for yourself. As usual our lovely commissions consultant Annabel Elton will be on hand to help potential clients through the exciting but sometimes daunting business of commissioning a portrait.
June 21st is Stereoscopy day!…yes, #stereoscopyday and from now on will be every year; it is worldwide and I’m a supporter, so listen up or visit the website. The painting here represents the autopsy of my much loved but now ex-stereoscopic camera (A 35mm Edixa). I often use stereo transparencies as a studio aid, so my contribution here is to share an article I have written on the techniques and benefits of the practice. You can read the article via this link.
If you take two photographs, one from the viewpoint of each eye and then overlap them until they fuse into one, you create a fully three dimensional single image, which I have found to be an invaluable help, particularly when it comes to portraits. Not only is the form conveyed clearly, but texture and transparency too, with none of the spatial ambiguities inherent in ordinary photos: Form, shadow detail, highlights & reflections are all clearly rendered in space. Once mastered, the sheer visual physicality and joy of depth perception is sharpened, and from then on you become intensely aware of it.
Using transparencies gives a very high definition, immersive result. Although I prefer to work as much from life as possible, sitters can be busy people, and this really takes the pressure off….never a starting point though, only an aid.
Stereoscopy Day will be held every year on June 21st, the day in 1838 when Sir Charles Wheatstone presented his stereoscope to the Royal Society and demonstrated his theory of binocular vision. Stereo enthusiast Dr Brian May, who’s other hobbiess include astrophysics and playing the guitar, is responsible for re-launching the venerable Victorian London Stereoscopic Company, and along with photo historian Denis Pellerin has published many fine books on the art and practice of stereoscopy. For more info and events visit the London Stereoscopic Company website.
