Having produced a portrait for Bob I was delighted when he asked me to paint one of his late wife, Gretchen.

With help from friends and neighbours we gathered together what pictures everyone had and fortunately found one which I felt captured her warmth and wicked sense of humour. The background is of the wallpaper in their dining room which they bought back with them when they returned to England from Hong Kong. The flying butterflies are a further reflection of her spirit as well as a nod to a story she would tell of how some of the butterflies, which were hand painted, flew off when the paper was being hung.

Both portraits now hang together over the fireplace.

Oil on Canvas. 20 x 24 inches.