The Big Portrait Commission. ~. by Kathy McNenly

Oil on Linen, 57x36 inches
Jamie Cassels, QC, CM
Professor of Law and President Emeritus
University of Victoria

Just before we headed into lockdown at the beginning of Covid, I was approached to paint a portrait of the outgoing President of the University of Victoria. I was very excited to have been picked to do this commission, but also a bit nervous as I had never done an institutional portrait before.

Luckily, I was able to fly to Victoria to photograph and meet the subject promptly, as a week later all flights were stopped. Initially the portrait was to be finished in three months, which is warp speed for something to be done of this size and complexity. As it turned out that because of Covid the president could not retire, and I was able to take my time working on it. It took about six months to complete.

After a few studies and rethinking the attire, we settled on a composition. It was important for Mr. Cassells, the President, to have a lot of input in the final proposal. He was incredibly kind and down to earth and preferred jeans and a sports jacket to the more formal university robes. He also wanted the library to be part of the composition and so I spent a good part of the process working on the background environment.

The commission was both challenging and fun. I have not painted architecture before, so that was a bit of a struggle. In the end, I was happy with the result as was Mr. Cassells and the university. It is now hanging in its forever place on campus.

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