Artists

fresh paintABOVE Frontrow: Sara BurnEdwards, SallyCockburn, NadineHanwell; Back row:Cheryl Kennedy,Gilly Hughes, TeriAnne Scoble andSandra Hempel;Ladies!, oil oncanvas, 70x70cm``````MORGAN PENNThe moment you come face to face with Morgan Penn’slatest portrait, his intentions are clear: “I wanted to paint aportrait of a group of prim ladies looking shocked andappalled,” he says. Not wanting to alarm the public bypropositioning women at the bus stop, Morgan approachedthe Richmond and Twickenam Times newspaper in Londonto ask if they’d run a story calling out for painting femalesubjects over the age of 65. “Within hours, I was delugedwith so many emails from ladies all over London sendingme their photos!” he tells me.It wasn’t until 1970s actress turned artist Teri AnneScoble stepped in that the painting began to take shape,with her help, he was able to assemble a dream team ofwomen, with a distinctive ‘where do I know her from?’ look.``````In the mix are actresses Nadine Hanwell and CherylKenney, who’ve appeared in Call the Midwife andThe Sweeney respectively.The painting began life in the artist’s garden, “I asked theladies to imagine David Beckham was walking out of myback door with no clothes on,” he says.A self-taught painter who hadn’t so much as picked up apaintbrush until the age of 28, Morgan is meticulous aboutcomposition, and carefully planned Ladies! in Photoshop tomake it sure would work on canvas. Taking inspiration fromthe everyday absurdity found in the art of Norman Rockwelland Heath Robinson, Morgan has hit his artistic stride withhis expressive take on British life. It’s easy to see why somany galleries are spilling the tea about his work.http://www.morganpenn.com >top tipUsing rags to roughlyblock in basecolours can help keepeverything loose andspontaneous``````Artists & Illustrators 1512 Fresh Paint.indd 15 09/06/2016 12: