Ten years on, the story behind my 2010 painting of Zandra Rhodes!
Dame Zandra Rhodes stars in the new series of The Real Marigold Hotel on BBC One, alongside her actress friend Britt Ekland and Duncan Bannatyne, amongst others. She is my fashion designer contemporary and recently revealed to Trinny Woodall that she sleeps in her makeup. I love that.
Back in the year 2010, I was commissioned to paint Zandra's portrait - life sized! - for a BBC television documentary called Inside Out (of which more later, in a separate story!). Creative and bohemian, Zandra is famous for her love of pink. Even her Fashion & Textile Museum in London is orange and pink. Naturally, for our sittings, she wore a beautiful hand-painted tunic of her own design, colour-matched to her pink hair, with jewellery by her dear friend Andrew Logan, whose work has also never gone out of fashion.
I loved painting Zandra, especially the rich textiles, fab jewellery and even her boots! She was delighted with her portrait, and I also created a canvas replica for her, albeit in a slightly more manageable size.
She wrote: “It is fantastic and all the wonderful memories it brings back! A million thank yous! I love your idea of decorating the frame! I am working out ideas where it can have pride of place in my apartment.”
I have loads more stories about my life in art & fashion right here on my blog.
