My portrait of Princess Diana was created after being very moved by her sudden and untimely death. Ideas come from all sorts of sources whether they are positive or negative. When I look back and remember how sad her two children were, Prince William and Prince Harry, there was no way I was going to miss out on capturing a portrait of a person who I have high regard for.
This picture actually is actually a picture of the print which was taken from my original oil on canvas portrait. I looked around the web to see if I could get a friend of Princess Diana who would sign my print, signing helps to add value to works of art especially if the signer is famous. Lord Puttnam signature to be used on my print. You can see his name in the bottom right-hand side of the print.
The original painting is twenty-four inches by thirty-six inches and was completely created using pencil on prepared linen canvas. I use a variety of applicants to prepare linen canvas one of them being gesso.
I am often asked why I just paint in oil and not watercolor or some other medium, well over the years I have experimented with many types of medium from watercolor and guache pencil drawings and I came to the conclusion that oil is the best, it lasts longer and in my opinion it makes painting vibrate in a way no other material can.
I wanted to show the happy Diana of Wales the one which we all know and love. Many people are drawn to her eyes, eyes, as the old adage goes, are the windows into the soul. Artistic impression allows the creative artist to change and adapt as he or she moves along, I am no exception to this rule, I changed the style of hat, her earrings, and dress color to produce my painting.
Creating bespoke pieces of artwork takes be back to my happy childhood days at Shafto terrace in Washington County Durham, it was a great place to live, I would watch the pit heap glowing on a windy night, the top of the slag heap at Washington F pit was obviously still very hot and would ignite when the wind blew.
Diana's print was sold all over the world, an exhibition organized by the Government in Auckland New Zealand brought orders from many art dealers who were keen to have a famous much-loved print of the British Royal family to offer to their customers.
Themes are what Artists usually go for but in my case, I diversify a lot, it helps me thinking creatively and not get too bogged down with one subject. I know many who become overwhelmed and frustrated with their work, it may be because unlike me they don't think outside of the box and experiment with different subject areas.
More info: johnallsopp.blogspot.com
Princess Diana of Wales by John Allsopp
