Boy paints portrait of late father for art exhibition

A BOY from Shiplake College paid tribute to his late father in an art exhibition entered by pupils from Henley schools.

Ollie Barron, 13, was one of 120 pupils who entered the “portrait of a loved one” contest held at Amber Galleries in Market Place last week.

Pupils were tasked with creating a portrait of a family member, pet or friend after artist Basia Hamilton, who painted portraits of the late Queen Elizabeth II, approached Rupert House School in Bell Street with the idea.

Ollie, who lives in Sonning Common, painted his father Nick, in black and white, using acrylic paints.

Mr Barron died in 2023. After his death, more than £20,000 was raised for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance charity which fought to save him.

Ollie’s interest in art began when he was in Year 5. He said: “I painted my dad because I really miss him and he will always be with me.

“The portrait took a few hours over a few days. I used acrylic paint because it would make it easier to do.

“It felt nice to paint him and it was a way to remember him.”

Ollie’s mother Laura, a senior marketing manager at Sport in Mind, said: “I’m really proud of him and his dad would be incredibly proud of him. The painting is a really loving tribute.”

Other pupils taking part in the competition attended Trinity, Valley Road and Badgemore primary schools as well as Rupert House and St Mary’s schools in Henley, and Shiplake College.

It was staged in association with Education Henley and the Portrait Foundation, which Miss Hamilton founded in 2019.

She painted Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle in May 2022, which was the only private portrait sitting for the Platinum Jubilee.

Nick Armitage, the head of Rupert House School and a member of Education Henley, welcomed children, their parents and visitors to the exhibition on Wednesday last week.

He said: “Basia is a world-renowned portraitist with the late Queen among her sitters.

“She approached me a year or so ago initially through one of our neighbours, with the idea of encouraging our children creatively.

“Basia had created some wonderful exhibitions and inspired children in Poland, in Scotland, with her portrait of the Queen Mother which we have evolved here into the portrait of a loved one concept. This gives a slightly wider scope to the children.

“You can see the way in which it has inspired the children across all of the schools in Henley and this is the fruits of their labour.

“The creative outlet is to provide great opportunities for the children.” There will be three judges who will review the children’s portraits in three categories.

They are Richard Foster, former director of the Royal Portrait Society of London, Maciej Swieszewski, a professor of art from Gdansk in Poland, and Alexandra Hawkins, another artist from Henley.

The winning works will be showcased at the Henley Festival on Sunday, July 13, during its family day and the winning artists will receive prizes to encourage them to continue with art as they grow up.

Ellie Smith, 10, from Peppard attends Sacred Heart Primary School. She drew her father, who lives with alopecia, an autoimmune disease which causes hair loss.

She said: “I just wanted to show how much I love him, with or without hair, and I drew a picture of him in a flat hat.

“Many people have alopecia and it’s a challenge so I want to show other people how hard it is. My brother, Max, who is eight, also has it.

“He’s so strong and he’s coping very well. My dad is really proud of me.”

Diana Forbes, interim head of art at Rupert House, said: “When they came to us with the idea, I thought, ‘how can we bring this to life, how can we make this happen?’

“We invited all the schools in Henley to take part. It was lovely to see the entries kept coming through.

“Whether they are going into art or not, it doesn’t really matter at that point.

“It’s having the experience and being recognised for something that they enjoy doing.”