An artist from Bristol has spent hours creating a realistic digital portrait in a tribute to the Queen, who passed away last week.
John Donaldson, 43, is a former decorator from St Anne’s Park whose artwork has captured people’s attention across the world. The Kingswood-based artist - who has amassed more than 43,000 followers on Instagram - rose to acclaim after working with US rapper Snoop Dog around five years ago. He is commissioned by people in Bristol and all over the world for his realistic paintings.
His first-ever portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was painted using an iPad - and he spent four days working between the hours of 6am until midnight to complete it.
Read more: Queen remembered by Bristol Old Vic after monarch's last visit
Hearing the announcement of Her Majesty’s death last week, John said: “I was quite shocked really, it all came all of a sudden. A lot of people knew she was feeling a bit poorly and then all of a sudden it was breaking news all over the TV.”
John said he was inundated with messages from people asking whether he was going to paint a portrait in tribute to the late monarch from the moment the news was announced. The artist said he didn’t want to announce the tribute straight away, wanting to wait for the right moment, but has been overwhelmed by the kind words he has received.
“There have been lots of comments on my Facebook page. It’s the biggest compliment you can be given as an artist knowing that all of the hours that you put into it for people to say ‘it looks like a photograph’.”
He has issued a limited run of 25 prints of the portrait - which have already sold out - but the future of the original canvas has not yet been determined. “I’m undecided whether to auction it off or to see if I can get it to the castle,” he added.
John’s remembers his journey into art started when he was around six years old, spending the weekends painting at his grandparents’ house and later attending Brislington College to study art for one year. He emphasised how grateful he was to his friends, family and members of the public who have supported his work, helping him get to where he is today.
“Now being able to do it full time which is what I’ve always wanted to do since I went to art school, he added. “I am now able to do that and I work with lots of celebrities and feel like all of the hours, crazy starts and late finishes are all worth it.”
The father-of-three gave up working as a painter and decorator around three years ago to pursue art full-time. Along with Snoop Dogg, John has been commissioned by the a number of A-listers including Tyson Fury, Rudimental, Vinnie Jones and John Barnes.
He has recently been commissioned by World Snooker for The Masters tournament in January next year, which will continue to put his work on the global stage. His painting portfolio already features snooker stars including Jimmy White, Neil Robertson and Ronnie O’Sullivan, the latter of which was donated to an auction to raise money to fund a vital bone marrow donor in 2021.
You can follow John Donaldson's art on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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