'Self portrait with puppy and brush' selected as a finalist in the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award

Artist Statement

This painting is of me, painted from life in my studio. Every year I do several self-portraits. The invention of the mirror has been a fabulous thing for female artists and artists in general. Especially in days gone by when women were not allowed to the salon and to paint from life. Thank goodness those days are gone. Lucian Freud said that self-portraits never get easier and I have to agree, as I keep thinking this one will be easier, but more often than not they end up in the bin. And then, sometimes they fall off the brush.