"The Last Portrait” Oil on canvas 80 x 110

Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award Exhibition - 2024, 11 July - 27 October 2024 National Portrait Gallery, London

Oparin Yury Mikhailovich - State artist of the former Soviet Union, soldier who fought in WW2, and above all, my grandfather.

He was my first teacher and mentor who taught me to paint since I was very small He had a classical academic education in the Russian Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg and was a master in Soviet realism. A wonderful teacher, however for me he was always very strict and it was so difficult to be his student. But now I realise that the knowledge, insight and the key lessons I got fom him, I work with everyday , and the rest is experience and practice on top of it. He played an enormous role in shaping me as an artist.

He was one of the best realist artists in the Soviet Union of his day and because he worked mainly for government commissions, he never had any solo show in his lifetime. After he retired, his main activity was also in the Council of Veterans organisation, to which he devoted a lot of his time. After observing my grandad doing that I had the idea for the project “364 Days” which I dedicated to him . I decided to meet other veterans and talk to them and then painted a series of works about their lives and their memories of WW2, and their day to day lives away from the Victory celebrations that most people know.

I started this portrait when he was already in his last days and he passed away before I could complete it. It was very difficult for me to come back to finish the work, but I knew that I had to do it.

I am very proud that it was this painting that was recognised by the National Portrait Gallery for the 2024 Portrait Award, and that in a way, it allows him to participate in an international exhibition. An opportunity that he never had.