At the beginning

My fascination with portraits started about eight years ago. In 1993, having just returned from seven years in India, I was rediscovering London and chanced to see the BP Portrait Award exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery. Intoxicating stuff—such a variety of styles and such technical brilliance!

I hurried home to draw my long-suffering family and spent hours in front of a mirror too. I hadn't painted much in India, apart from a few decorative images of the Gods and I had a certain amount of catching up to do in terms of life drawing and general technique, all of which I had been drilled in during my student days at the Central School of Art and Design.

I worked away, spreading my net to include neighbours as models and began to receive commissions. Eventually, having been included in the BP Portrait exhibition in 1996, with Dr. Juergen Kraemer, I went on to win the 3rd Prize in 1997 for the painting of my neighbours, Mr & Mrs Panchal.

An instinctive approach

What I find intriguing about painting portraits is the revelation that takes place almost involuntarily when, as a painter, you are faithful to what you see. It is not an intellectual exercise in exposure! It simply happens and is quite different to the impressive but sometimes misleading effects of photography.

Clients of mine have occasionally had misgivings about their appearance in the portrait at first and upon living with the piece, have grown to love it, even going so far as to ring me to say that they realise I have captured a truth which they can now at last see!

I have a particular interest in creating what might be called the "conversation piece", the sort of painting where there is something going on between the characters, usually on a subtle level; it is possible to read a lot into the postures and relationship between the figures but nothing is stated too overtly.

The process

My task as a portrait painter, as I see it, is to capture the essential character of the sitter(s) on canvas and in order to do so I need to have the subjects feel relaxed and be themselves.

The portrait painting invariably means something special to the client, so I usually suggest they wear something special, but nothing so formal as to make them feel uncomfortable. In asking the clients to choose what they will wear I am often surprised that with minimal guidance from myself what they choose are harmonious with their surroundings and at the same time revealing of their own characters.

A similar process goes on with choosing the setting and pose: we look together and if they have a particular favourite corner or environment I aim to use that, although, of course, I need to consider the qualities of light or objects and shapes in terms of composition.