Building for the future

‘The concept which Armstrong Watson had of celebrating their 150th year in business by supporting the arts is inspirational,” says Diana.

“They have chosen such a good group to support their vision, whether it be the artists or CN Group.

“The whole process of having a portrait done was daunting and fun at the same time. Helen Perkins was warm and friendly.

“We got off to an amusing start when she ran out of paper and we raided my late husband’s architectural studio for an A3 sketch pad.

Later when Phil Rigby arrived to take photographs, we could not move Helen’s easel so we used a large one which my husband had made.

“As everyone says, sitting still in the same position for some time is not easy but the time went so quickly with all the chatting that one forgot that one was sitting for a portrait. Helen was kind to me, has done a good job as clearly I was a challenge, being no oil painting myself.

“I wore a jacket which must have been hard to portray, covered as it is in ‘old money’ (sixpences, three penny bits etc) indicating that I need to modernise.

“I have met Phil Rigby before and he is also a delight to work with and quickly puts one at ease.

“I was impressed with Amy Mandale who did the video too. I am not keen on speaking to camera however she made it much easier than it might otherwise have been.”

Helen says: “This was a demanding portrait, with a highly patterned jacket and shiny patterned boots. I loved the highlights in Diana’s hair, in this portrait, I think they added a real sense of light to the whole painting.

“This sitting seemed to go too quickly - I felt like it had barely started and it was over. I remember Diana being such a natural conversationalist, and I’ll never forget the beautiful rooms in her house, which deserve a painting all of their own.”

<center><b>Click on the pictures below to see the completed portraits:</b></center>