Work - handmade with help from a computer
2021, though grim on a lot of levels held a couple of surprises for me in terms of my painting. I painted a portrait of the great Mitzi Gaynor and my friend Paul knows her really well and showed it to her,. she loved it, posted it on her FB page and consequently now owns a beautiful Fine art print of it.. what a thrill. Then there was my painting of Diana, Princess of Wales, I posted it on the Greyson Perry FB page on her 60th birthday and it went ballistic, 25 thousand ‘likes’, 10 thousand shares. Unbelievable. The crowning glory was.. that I posted my new painting of Barbra Streisand on the fan sites for her birthday on the 24th April.. People really liked it and her great friend asked me if he could show it to her.. I thought for 1 second and said ‘yes’- he then called me and said she ‘LOVES IT” and could he buy it for her.. as a result of a lot of postage and backwards and forwards.. Barbra Streisand now owns MY portrait of HER. After years of painting her,. what a reward. She sent him and e mail which he read to me over the phone, saying how much she loved it and having painted in watercolours herself, realised how difficult it is was to achieve.. she also asked how was it that I was not famous.. sadly I don’t have the email myself.. but its a thrill that these amazing things happened. I’ll struggle on.. one day I may be able to just paint for a living.. maybe when I’m 80. Ha,