This was a preparatory drawing for my subsequent painting in oils ‘An Angel at my Table’ that went on to win the BP Portrait Award in 2018. This drawing evolved into a very detailed and elaborate pastel study which is remarkably similar to the oil version, which I like as much and which reproduces beautifully as a giclee print.
In this work, which is a portrait of my mother, I was trying to capture her qualities of inner stillness and clam, whilst also wanting to transmit an idea of the Universal Mother, who is at the centre of our psyche and emotional world. The kitchen table and tea crockery become almost emblematic and help to frame her at the centre of the image. The muted colour palette casts a harmonious tone over the work.