Winner of the inaugural Lester Portrait Prize 2007

Judges Comments:

“Cassandra Burton has used her considerable skills to capture a sense of reflection expressed on Peter’s face but especially in his eyes (the windows to the soul). The way that Burton has captured those blue eyes is particularly captivating because they convey a deeper meaning from within. Peter leans forward as though waiting or wanting to impart something of deep significance and this leaning forward balances the whole composition.

Burton used an old technique of scratching back for the spikes of grey hair but it is very telling for it conveys a sense of fortitude and resistance. The brave and successful technique, once used by Picasso in his painting Woman in White, is “the attack” on the painting of sweeping brushstrokes as though we are seeing the model through a film or semitransparent screen. That takes assurance and confidence.”