Peter Edwards Portrait Workshop

Art students were given a treat this term when Peter Edwards – possibly Oswestry School’s most successful living artist – returned to the school for a portrait workshop to help pupils with the national Face Britain project.

This project has been devised for young people aged 4-16 in the UK as part of the summer’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations whereby participants create a self-portrait and see it on public display as part of a single installation. For more information please click on www.facebritain.org.uk

Peter is probably best known for his portraits of football legends Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs, and in 1994 won the coveted BP Portrait Award for his Portrait of an Artist's Model.

Acting Head of Art Sue Fensome said that the workshop was enjoyed hugely by everyone.

“For the first half of the workshop Peter talked about portrait art and demonstrated how to start putting paint to paper ” said Sue. "After that is was up to the pupils to put into practice what they’d learnt."

“All the comments were really positive.  I think they learnt a great deal and it gave them confidence to go on with their own self portraits.”

Peter Edwards has enjoyed an illustrious career and we were delighted that he agreed to host the workshop.

He attended Bellan House School 1965-1967 and then Oswestry School 1967-1974.

Through the 1980s he exhibited at the Royal Academy and began exhibiting in the National Portrait Gallery's Portrait Award.

In 1991, former England captain Bobby Moore unveiled Peter’s portrait of Bobby Charlton in the National Portrait Gallery; it marked the 25^thanniversary of England winning the FIFA World Cup.

In 1993 he exhibited with, amongst others, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Nam June Paik, and Tony Bevan, before winning the BP portrait award in 1994. This award led to his commission to paint Kazuo Ishiguro, which was unveiled the following summer in the National Portrait Gallery by Ismail Merchant.