Portrait of Peter

Portrait of Peter is a commissioned work by Alan Dedman, commenced during late Autumn, 2025. It was an honour to paint this elderly gentleman now in his 95th year of life. I first met him as one of my students, when he attended adult-ed classes at local schools. He was always an enthusiastic participant, with an appetite for the arts; an accountant by trade.

Originally from London, Peter and his wife Carol (from Hereford) settled in North Somerset. They kindly allowed me to use outbuildings on their estate at Birdcombe Court to show my work and as temporary studio space.

The 13th Century manor house sits well against a lush West Country landscape, part of the fabric of ‘Olde England’ redolent with echoes and ghosts from previous centuries, a great place to work.

Olwyn Bowey RA, taught us at St. Martins and was present amongst the roster of teaching staff at the Royal Academy Schools. Allegedly Carel Weight’s former partner, this dame of the old school gave me telephone tutorials from her home in Chichester. One thing she noted was: ‘Never paint to the market. Only paint and draw that which you like and are interested in‘.

Easier said than done (if like myself, you are interested in many things) but wise words. If you sacrifice time, energy and income to the cause of art, first and foremost you should be your own master.

Following Olwyn’s advice, I did numerous portraits from observation, because I’m most interested in people and the human form. However, when you paint to the tune of someone else’s money, as during a commission – you rein yourself in.

I got the process ‘under control’. The stress of receiving a sitter, making them feel at ease having their face scrutinised; whilst concentrating on the fine motor skills and procedures of painting isn’t easy.

My studio is cold during the depths of Winter, so I was asked to paint in the breakfast room of the Peter’s current home. This meant assembling materials, easel, boards and canvas amongst furniture, pets and other household members; because of Peter’s age, it was very warm compared to my usual habitat. Peter chose his attire which took a while!

The ‘transactional value’ in any portrait painting from life is: you get insights about the character you have been employed to portray, adding to the veracity of your efforts.

In a recent article published in the Financial Times, Elizabeth Paton states (the obvious) ‘AI could do it but a careful human hand feels like something to cherish now, more than ever’.

It should be added the process of characterising a sitter is dependent on perception, relative to social skills and the painter’s capacity to draw out a personality as they document their subject.

In his 95th year, Peter recounted the day he heard Britain entered into war with Germany. How his family endured the blitz, he watched London burning; repeatedly dodged German bombs, and spoke of the places in their home where it was ‘safe to sleep’.

We talked about bread rationing in the years immediately after the war, how at one point it was assumed conflict with the Soviet Union was inevitable. Peter enjoyed national service in the RAF, has always loved cricket and makes annual pilgrimages to Glyndebourne with his family.

With the passing of Peter’s generation we forfeit an authentic grasp of realities which have shaped the UK. He admires Churchill and particularly mentioned his pre-second world war speeches.

The desecration of Churchill’s statue in parliament square is symptomatic of a society losing touch with history and reality (too busy trying to re-write it). In the words of John Lydon, former front-man of the Sex Pistols ‘There’d have been an even bigger racist in Whitehall if it hadn’t have been for him’ (Churchill). Don’t forget that.

Portrait of Peter is a representational, figurative account. It gains character from the long tradition of drawing inculcated in me by: Anne Roberts RAS, Nicholas Ward RAS, Eric Luke RAS and staff at the Royal Academy Schools including: Olwyn Bowey RA, Peter Greenham RA, Norman Blamey RA, Anthony Eyton, Ben Levine, Margaret Green et al and of course Roderic Barrett who will be turning in his grave at the sight of my upbeat palette.

Personally I want to experience the joy and vivacity of chroma – sparkling and percolating through my subject matter.

I began Portrait of Peter by painting directly with acrylics onto a pre-primed canvas, stretched over board. After the initial attack, I like to work into the surface with oil bars, which create a fiery and wild strike – scribbling into the painting.

After this I calmed it down, blocking in colours, further refined in the studio with photo reference. I ordered a custom made stretcher from Russell & Chapple in London, then transferred the canvas from the board onto it.

Returning to my subject after a period of illness, I went back to my sitter’s home, then did more painting in my studio. Leaving the surface open (with original freshness showing), I kept a strong colour contrast alive, bringing latent yellow into play against royal purple and kingfisher blue in a deliberately hazy background, along with rich crimsons and mahogany browns.

I used sharp focus around the sitter’s hands and face, keeping a pensive look of geniality and kindness. It was hard to maintain a balance between painterly realism and garrulous brushwork. The result is very much in the tradition of the art schooling I received.

If you would like Alan Dedman to make a portrait painting of you or someone you know, please leave a note on the contact form below.