Two days ago I went to see Patrick McCann to make his portrait at Linklaters, the law firm where he works in the City. We met at very short notice, before he retires at the end of the month.
I was delighted to see that Patrick wore orange nail varnish: a gift to someone (me) who likes colourful pictures.
Patrick’s last month is full of meetings, so I didn’t have a long time to make sketches. I took photos of everything in the room, to use as reference later.
The room was already being emptied. Ominously, a black municipal bin, of the kind found outside London homes, stood in the corner waiting to be filled with whatever Patrick decided to get rid of.
There was a jungle of houseplants on the cupboard by the window, and several awards he picked up over his career.
Elsewhere in the room Patrick pointed out files from his previous job, and a T-shirt bearing the logo of a charity he co-founded, City Century. He particularly asked me to photograph that T-shirt, and to include it in the finished portrait.
The picture at the top of this page is a detail from the finished portrait, showing items on the desk beside his computer: framed photos, empty mugs, personal photos pinned to the wall. I sent that picture to Patrick today.
“Really excited about this painting – the detail,” Patrick replied.
I said I was glad to hear he liked it.
“I’m loving it, not liking it. It’s so meaningful.”
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Postscript.
After he left his work, Patrick took a long trip abroad. When he came back, we made a time for me to meet him and hand over the picture, at lunch with Patrick and his husband and his nephew.
That same day, Patrick generously shared a video on LinkedIn
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