Escape From The Hungry World of Ghosts

This is a relatively quick portrait of a young man called George (completed over 4 short sessions) which I am really pleased with.

George is thoughtful, quietly intense, and buzzing with ideas. He is a poet and I asked him to give this work its title. The name he decided on is a line from a poem he has been working on, and was contemplating as he sat. I think it suits the painting perfectly, and speaks of thoughts and feelings that I suspect we hold a great deal of in common. It underlines the collaborative nature of portraiture when working from life between the artist and sitter.

Some progress shots of the painting…