Red Beret
By Thomas Arthurton
© Thomas Arthurton
Born in Norwich, Thomas Arthurton studied history of art at the University of York and Courtauld Institute of Art before studying painting at the Florence Classical Arts Academy and St Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he is currently enrolled as a student specialising in portraiture.
The portrait is of Arthurton’s fellow artist, Liza. The sittings took place in the attic of the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, which is a communal space for all students. Painted during the dark winter evenings, the portrait was completed by artifcial light with the red beret creating a focal point and highlight. Arthurton says some parts are deliberately unfnished ‘so that the painting is like a memory in which parts fade whilst at the same time remembering what is essential.’
