“Me and Myself”

Original Oil Painting

Oil On Canvas 

60cm X 80cm  (dimensions including frame 67cm x 87cm)

Created 2024

It was a sunny day in the autumn of 2023 when I saw Mick sat on a wall outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Crowds of tourists filled the area mesmerised by the sites of London yet Mick was invisible to them. I knew that Mick was homeless because he was with a group of homeless people that I knew. I also knew that I had to paint him, I never know why a particular person appeals to me in this way. Mick had been on the streets of London for some years having moved down from Hull. As with so many homeless people that I meet he lived in the moment,  he was full of joy, laughter and hope yet a little underneath there was trauma and fear. So many homeless people see the streets as an escape, they spend their childhood years surrounded by violence in a house that they should feel safe in, instead the house is a prison that they must escape from. 

As I walked on after saying my good byes I looked back and saw Mick laughing and then playing his mouth organ. I felt so much admiration for Mick. He kept going. 

“Me and Myself” is also available as a signed limited edition print, please see the “Homeless” series on the limited edition print section of the website.