James, Oil on Canvas, 120cm by 90cm. My entry for the SPI (Sanlam Private Investments) National Portrait Award Exhibition.
Monika Pon was just a teenager when she met self-taught artist Vladimir Tretchikoff. His painting of her, ‘CHINESE GIRL’, is believed to be one of the bestselling commercial prints ever and has turned her into one of the most enduring cultural totems of the 20th century. I found a beautiful image of an older Monika in a recent magazine and decided there and then to do a retake of this classic portrait.
