This a portrait of Katie White who was a very close friend of my mothers as they both attended Bournemouth College at the same time in the ’40s. It is a good representation of the “scrub” technique my mother developed after a serious car accident left her with a dislocated shoulder. A happy accident of seeing the soft staining effect from trying to remove oil paint inappropriately applied due to the lack of control caused by the physical limitations of her injured shoulder. The very soft edges created by this way of applying and removing the paint really lent itself the soft and sensual character of the portrait.
Very fittingly the painting was done as thank-you present to the White family after they took my mother in to care for her while she was recovering from that car accident, further details are mentioned in her biography page.

This a marked contrast to a earlier portrait she did of the same person using her palette knife.