Taking on a formal commission from an institution for a permanent collection is both a great privilege and a huge responsibility. Following my appearance on Sky Art’s Portrait Artist of the Year, I was fortunate enough to be commissioned by King’s College, Taunton, to paint a portrait of their retiring headmaster, Richard Biggs, Rhodes Scholar, MA BSc. The purpose of the painting was to provide a lasting visual record of Richard’s 15-year tenure at the school, to be hung alongside portraits of previous King’s headmasters, and unveiled in front of pupils, parents and governors. It was an exciting yet daunting brief. My preparation for the painting began well before the first sitting. Earlythe painting. It was clear from these discussions that while this would be a formal portrait, Richard wanted the painting to reflect his personal style which is relaxed and approachable and definitely not that of a foreboding headmaster. He also had a few ideas about possible settings to provide some context for the portrait which we agreed to explore further at the sittings.
