“The drawing started spontaneously during a quiet, reflective period. I was at home a lot, often tired, and sitting still and drawing felt like the most natural thing to do. The initial sketch took a day, and I returned to it over three or four sittings across a couple of weeks. I finished the final details the day before my 35th birthday, which made it feel like a quiet way to mark the milestone.
The portrait captures me in a very ordinary, private moment, at home, resting, observing myself without pretence. While making it I was thinking a lot about Dürer’s self-portraits: that balance of honesty, stillness, and quiet intensity.
About me I trained in classical portraiture and figure drawing at the Repin Academy summer school in St Petersburg, and continue to study in the UK. I’ve always been fascinated by people, sometimes to the point of staring at strangers on the tube. My ongoing influences include Rembrandt, Serov, Schiele, and Morisot, and I’m endlessly fascinated by the UK art scene and the history I keep discovering here.
Currently working towards more ambitious compositions, moving beyond individual portraits into work with multiple figures and a stronger sense of space.”
–Anastasia Mironova
The RP Drawing Prize
