Blog

By Yasmeen Ismail

Family Trail Fun at the Gallery

I was travelling in Malaysia and eating my breakfast when I got the email saying that I had been chosen to illustrate the Family Trail for the BP Portrait Award 2015. I was so excited and already my head was buzzing with ideas. I knew that I would be able to have fun and paint with lots of my favourite colours. I was supposed to be on holiday but I just wanted to get started!

One of the best things about the project was that I got to see behind the scenes of the BP Portrait Award 2015. I got to go to the warehouse where the portraits all arrived and were being unpacked. I got to see the winners and I had to keep it secret for such a long time.

I worked very closely with Gallery staff to help to organise ideas and choose which paintings to feature in the trail. The work was easy because it was such a fun project. I liked painting the little bear the best. I used watercolours and tidied it all up on the computer.

Once it was all done it was fantastic to see it printed and finished. I was invited to the party for the exhibition opening to look at all the wonderful portraits on the walls and to see the Family Trail that I had made in its final form. There were also illustrations around the exhibition on special Family Labels talking about the portraits.

This was one of the most fun projects I have worked on. I had the best time ever!

Illustrations by Yasmeen Ismail, 2015 © National Portrait Gallery, London