THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS April 17th 2009
FRANK GOES WHERE NO ARTIST HAS GONE BEFORE IN ROMAN PORTRAIT
Patrick Stewart hails image as it goes on display in Capital
Published Date: 17 April 2009
By HAZEL MOLLISON
HE has boldly gone where no artist has gone before.
Frank To
created a striking image of actor Patrick Stewart, aka Star Trek Captain
Jean-Luc Picard, in the style of a Roman emperor.
And when the artist showed it to the man himself at a gallery in Leith, the
68-year-old Stewart - currently in the Capital performing in Waiting for Godot
at the King's Theatre - gave it his seal of approval.
The actor became friends with the young artist when Mr To was a student and he
was chancellor of Huddersfield University.
Stewart admired his work at a graduate exhibition and bought two pictures.
Since then, he has eagerly followed his career and was happy to sit for a
portrait.
His profile, in red and orange colours, is one of the eye-catching paintings
now on display at the Leith Gallery, on The Shore.
Stewart said: "For me, it was especially gratifying to find a student
whose work was so exciting and fresh. Since then, I've got to know him and keep
abreast of his exhibitions. I've got pictures by him in both my homes. I'm very
impressed by his latest work. It's very different from his earlier pictures,
which were very abstract."
He said he has enjoyed returning to Edinburgh for the first time in more than a
decade. He is performing until tomorrow in the sell-out production, opposite
his X-Men co-star Sir Ian McKellen.
He said: "I'm here with my girlfriend this time, and we've had time to be
tourists. We've loved it - I wish I could stay longer.
"It's such a beautiful city and unlike anywhere else. I'm a fan of
architecture and I've enjoyed walking up streets and looking at all the details
on old buildings. We also enjoyed the Turner and Italy exhibition.
"We've had a wonderful welcome, with full houses every night. One of the
most charming things is, in every city, we've used local young actors. We've
really enjoyed working with them."
Mr To, 26, who is originally from Falkirk, said Stewart's interest and
encouragement had been a huge morale boost.
He is already making a name for himself as a figurative artist, with
exhibitions in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. His work has also featured on
STV's Rebus.
He said: "I met Patrick by chance when he came to my degree show. I was
very surprised.
"It's been nice to have someone like that support me and believe in me. It
was a massive boost."
He said he had been inspired by depictions of kings and emperors on ancient
coins when painting the portrait. He said: "I was thinking about art and
propaganda, and why they put the head of the monarch on to coins. Patrick acted
in Anthony and Cleopatra, and that inspired the idea."