Highly Commended: Portrait of the Artist’s Wife by Joseph Furlonger

Heidi Furlonger is the wife and studio assistant of the artist Joseph Furlonger. This head study is part of a series inspired by Tudor portraits, painted on antique recycled canvas, washed back and worked into over time. Heidi is placed against a deep black background that strips the composition to its essentials. Nothing competes with the figure. There is a simplicity that holds the viewer, the quiet confidence of a painter who has spent decades mastering his craft.

The series began the day Heidi came home with a new haircut, short and arresting, with what Joseph describes simply as “great design qualities.” Painted from life and memory, Joseph explains, “I need to paint someone I know, someone to be observed, to then capture their likeness.” Joseph says Heidi is “wryly amused” by the result. There is an ease in this portrait that only comes from two people who know each other completely.