ABOUT VALERIY Valeriy Gridnev was born in Russia (the Urals) in 1956. 1976-1980 – graduated from Sverdlovsk Art College. 1983-1990 – studied at the St Petersburg Academy of Arts 1990 – Gridnev’s graduation project, an oil painting “The Early Years” won a prestigious prize: The Gold Medal of the USSR Academy of Art. 1990-1994 -…
ABOUT DAVID GRAHAM I was born in 1926, and Studied at Hammersmith School of Art, St Martin’s School of Art and Royal College of Art (1st Class Diploma). I did my War Service with the Grenadier Guards, Stars in Battledress and Royal Army Education Corp 1944 – 1948.I taught art atWimbledon School of Art, Medway…
ABOUT EMMA Born in Brighton in 1989, Emma completed a degree at University of the Arts London, where she was trained in the special art of Prosthetics for Performance. It was this that instilled an obsession with the human form and anatomy, one which coupled with her passion for the traditional techniques of portrait painting,…
ABOUT RICHARD Richard Foster was born in 1945 and brought up in Norfolk. He was educated at Harrow School, Studio Simi and the British Institute in Florence, Trinity College Oxford and the City and Guilds of London Art School; not forgetting the influence of his friends and contemporaries! He has been a Member of the…
ABOUT ANDREW Festing was born in 1941 he educated at Ampleforth College and RMA Sandhurst. He was commissioned into The Rifle Brigade where he served until 1969. Festing worked at Sotheby’s in 1969 and was head of the British Pictures Department from 1977-1981, where he became Sotheby’s chief expert for British Pictures, with and extensive…
ABOUT SIMON Simon Davis was born in 1968 in Stratford Upon Avon. In 2008, he was runner up in the BP Portrait award and that same year was elected as a RP. He is currently Vice-President . He divides his time between portrait painting and comic book illustration for the cult British comic 2000ad and his…
ABOUT SAM Sam was educated at Harrogate College of Arts and Technology, and Cleveland College of Art and Design. Sam has exhibited in the 2003 BP Portrait Award, was shortlisted for the Bulldog Bursary in 2009, and has exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters since 2010. Sam was elected as a Member of…
ABOUT SAIED DAI Saied Dai is Persian by birth, born in Tehran in 1958 and came to England at the age of six. He began his seven years of art training at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design and shortly after was awarded a place at the Royal Academy of Arts where he…
ABOUT ANTHONY Anthony Connolly, President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, trained at Goldsmiths. He has work in many public and private collections including the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, West Point Military Academy; and Rhodes House and Campion Hall, both in Oxford. Anthony is also an experienced teacher and runs occasional drawing and…
ABOUT DAVID David has been drawing and painting since early childhood. He trained at Northampton and Liverpool Schools of Art before spending almost 10 years studying and working in Japan. In 1989 he was shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award and elected a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1997, serving as…
