Derek Blake with Parkinson's
By John Anthony Richardson
© John Anthony Richardson
John Anthony Richardson studied at Chelsea School of Art, Goldsmiths College and the Royal Academy Schools, London. His work has been seen in group exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts and the National Theatre.
The portrait is of the artist’s long-term friend Derek Blake. Blake is a successful restauranteur and bar owner, having established the Mango Room Caribbean restaurant in Camden among other venues. Since Blake’s diagnosis with Parkinson's Disease, Richardson has on occasion needed to look after his friend, he says: ‘Despite all the physical limitations and periods of paralysis he never complained and his mind was as insightful and humorous as it ever was.’
