Commision your own portrait story

A portrait can capture how someone looks. A Portrait Story captures something of who they are.

My Portrait Stories begin with conversation. I spend time getting to know the person I’m painting: the experiences that have shaped them, the things they love, the objects they keep, the colours they’re drawn to, the clothes they choose and the stories they tell.

Those conversations become the starting point for an original painting, using colour, symbolism and personal details to create something that moves beyond likeness towards character, memory and story. It’s an approach that has grown from my belief that a portrait can be a conversation between artist and sitter, rather than simply a representation of them. The optimists words

Who is a Portrait Story for?

You might commission a Portrait Story for yourself, or it might be an extraordinary gift for someone you love.

It could mark a milestone birthday, a marriage, becoming a parent for the first time, a new chapter in somebody’s life — or even the end of one. A divorce, a reinvention, a retirement or a significant change can be every bit as worthy of marking as the more traditional milestones.

And the person at the heart of the portrait doesn’t have to be here to sit for me.

A Portrait Story can also celebrate someone who is no longer with us. In that case, I work with the people who knew them best, talking to family and friends and gathering photographs, memories, stories, objects and details. The resulting work becomes less about recreating a photograph and more about creating a portrait of a life — and something of the feeling that person left behind.

That idea is important within my practice: sometimes likeness isn't only about accuracy; it can also be about retaining the feeling someone leaves behind.

The process

Every commission begins with a relaxed Portrait Conversation. We talk, I listen, photograph and sketch, and together we begin to uncover what the painting might contain.

We might start with a favourite outfit or photograph, but the most meaningful elements often emerge through conversation: a childhood picture, a piece of jewellery, a particular flower, a treasured object, a pattern, a place, a phrase someone always says.

From there I develop the composition and paint the portrait in my distinctive, colour-led style. The process is collaborative but also deliberately open: I allow the painting to evolve as I discover more about the person.

The aim isn't simply to paint what you look like. It is to find a way of painting something of who you are.

Portrait or Portrait Story

Commissions can take two forms.

The Portrait
An original commissioned painting, created through my Portrait Story process.

The Portrait + Storybook
The original painting accompanied by a beautifully produced, bespoke book telling the story behind it — bringing together words, photographs, memories, details from our conversations and the creative journey of the painting itself.

The book turns the commission into something closer to a personal memoir in paint: the portrait and the story of the life behind it, held together.

Something to live with now.
Something to give.
And something to pass on.

All Portrait Stories include a series of collaborative moments where I share my progress, so that you can ensure you’re delighted with the outcome, and feel involved in its creation.

Portrait commissions start from £1,000.
Portrait + Storybook packages available.
Prices POA depending on size, format and the scope of the commission.