CHARLOTTE JOHNSTONE

I was born into a family of artists. I trained at The Slade School of Art and have spent the subsequent decades as a portrait painter. After spending 10 years in India, I realigned with my Suffolk roots, where I now live and work.

What excites me in painting is the challenge of capturing honesty in a portrait - the fleetingness of youth, the wisdom that comes with age, the various layers of a person's character and their quirks. It's not about a photographic snapshot but rather a composite of feeling and experience, a reflection of lives being lived.

I work in oil on canvas.

Portraiture runs in my family—my grandmother, Doris Zinkeisen, and great-aunt, Anna Zinkeisen, were both portrait painters and war artists, as well as set and costume designers. Their work can be found in the National Portrait Gallery and The Imperial War Museum.

In addition to portraiture, I also paint horses and landscapes.