I have had the opportunity to meet a few special, talented individuals that I have painted portraits of……..
Guy Sebastian
I had the opportunity to meet Guy by way of my Aunty & Uncle, Karen and Roy Merricks ( co-managing Directors of MTA Travel ) when they hosted Guy along with over 500 of the companies consultants and invited guests to their fabulous 20th Anniversary party held at the Gold Coast's MovieWorld. I painted the piece in hopes of getting it signed, but once he saw the piece I could tell that he was impressed and we decided together that it might be an awesome idea to auction the artwork for his charity "The Sebastian Foundation".
He is such a humble, down to earth person and such a talent on stage. I'd love to work on something else in the future with him but you'll have to wait n’ see ;)
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen is best known for his cricket career, but he is also an extreme enthusiast involved in animal rights in particularly the black Rhinos of Africa. I got to meet Kevin at a Sorai - Save Our Rhino charity event in Sydney. I painted his portrait using oil paint and a palette knife only. The technique using the palette knife enables you create some excellent texture and shadows. He signed the piece also.
David Croft …….a.k.a.."Crofty”
Perth. March 6th 2020. I was lucky enough to get a VIP invite to the F1 Experiences event “Ask Crofty”. David spoke of his Formula One Commentary career and engaged with the 500+ crowd in all things F1 with an awesome “off the cuff” style Q&A session. He was such a great presence on stage, funny, quick witted and extremely informative with his F1 knowledge. Personally he was a pleasure to meet and chat with and definitely has that style of Aussie banter down pat.
The first two portraits of Lewis Hamilton ( current 6 time world F1 Champion ) and Hometown Hero from Perth, Daniel Ricciardo were generously donated by Wendy & Phil c/o The F1 Experience and were auctioned to raise much needed dollars for the Bushfire Relief efforts. The portrait of Crofty was given to him as a gift and memorable piece to take home and possibly put in the boudoir ( but don’t quote me on that lol )
Jessica Watson OAM
Jessica………what can I say about Jess. Such a beautiful soul, beautiful young lady. Jessica is known by many for her nonstop journey sailing solo around the world at just 16 years of age! ( I think I was probably still getting Mum to drop me off to Westfields when I was 16 ). She has worked with the United Nations World Food Programme, is an accomplished Author of two books so far, has an MBA and is an ambassador for MTA Travel. I was able to meet Jess and paint her portrait for entry into the Archibald Prize. Jess is such an inspiration to many and it's always lovely to see her and catch up. I may ask her to sit for another entry in the future ;)