First Prize

Michael Simpson
by Paul Emsley
Oil on Canvas, 1370 x 1120mm (53 7/8 x 44")
© the artist

First Prize: Paul Emsley (b.1947)
The sitter in this portrait is the contemporary artist, Michael Simpson. He and artist Paul Emsley live in the same town, and Emsley had always been struck by Simpson’s appearance. Emsley worked from a series of short sittings as he felt he could not ask his subject to sit for long periods of time. The portrait took five weeks to complete. Trained at Cape Technical College, Cape Town, in recent years Emsley has won several awards and prizes for his work.