Portrait of dr. Andrew Boulton

Portrait of Dr Andrew Boulton, acrylic on canvas, 50 × 60 cm, 2023.

I met Dr Boulton at an event; later his wife approached me and commissioned a portrait for his seventieth birthday. I have lived with diabetes for more than ten years, and the work of researchers like him makes my life easier every year, which is why this portrait is special to me.

To paint a real portrait you have to look closely at how a person holds himself. The first thing I noticed was his bright blue eyes, full of joy of life and compassion; the portrait is for a seventieth birthday, but the spirit in it is young. I wanted to paint a mature man without emphasising age, so I added my signature rounded cheeks. I kept the skin tones as true as I could; the blue line behind the figure is a falling shadow.