A painting by Visual artist Stephen Earl Rogers of his son Beau will be showing at the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London from 18 June 20 September 2009. The BP Portrait Award is the most prestigious portrait competition in
the world, promoting the very best in contemporary portrait painting.
Stephen says, "I wanted to paint a portrait of my son. One which might become a family heirloom. I felt the picture should not be typical of the imagery that is often used to portray children, but that it should capture his individual presence and intensity. This is not the sum total of his character but it is one of the expressions I'm often greeted with, I expect to see this expression a lot more as he gets older. This painting was also an opportunity to use techniques which emphasised the contrast between the plump smoothness of a two year olds complexion with the highly textured wool of his hat and duffle coat."
The BP Portrait Award exhibition runs at the National Portrait Gallery until 20 September 2009 and then goes on tour: