Victoria Lucie by Greg Mason
This large canvas is my official entry for this years BP Portrait Awards - held at the National Portrait Gallery each year in London. My subject is Victoria Lucie, a young actress - who recently starred in Dartmoor Killing - an award winning independent movie shot on location in Devon.
This painting began with a session in my studio on the edge of Dartmoor a couple of years ago. The plain interior and simple accessories are typical of my pared-back approach. I like to put the subject as hero so that we experience the 'presence' of the sitter and are invited to share their moment.
I particularly like the off-stage gaze - it allows us to create our own narrative. Is she 'waiting for the call' I asked myself as the painting developed, as an actress on audition would be. This fits with what I see - but each interpretation is valid.
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