About this piece.

‘I see people in terms of dialogue and I believe that people are their talk.’
Roddy Doyle

When Alan suggested that I sit for him I was flattered and presumed that the artist would paint my portrait as I would wish it to be, ie., without the flaws and lines I see in the mirror each day.  What I hadn’t understood was the fact that Alan was intending to paint me as a person rather than just a face, wrinkles and all!  The portrait is honest and goes deeper than just an ocular image.

I greatly enjoyed the sessions with Alan, which usually took place on a Sunday, over a period of several months.  As someone with an all too busy life, it was quite a treat to have to sit still for an amount of time and do nothing but chat.  It was nice to be able to spend time getting to know a friend, sharing snippets of our lives.  To my delight I also discovered Alan’s talent as a chef and his love for different types of teas! 

It was an enriching experience to see certain things as an artist would, for example, for the first time in my life I was very aware of the different lighting that occurs during the changes of seasons.  I also now know that an artist can face the dilemma of whether to stop painting a subject at a certain point in time or to continue and risk having too many details, which can completely change a painting.

If someone were to ask me if I would do it again my immediate response would be ‘yes please’!  It was an honour to be part of Alan’s ‘Dialogue’ project and I wish him the best of luck with his vernissage and hopefully the many more to come.

Tanya Gingell

Portfolio / Dialogues / Tanya Gingell