(Oil, Charcoal and Acrylic on Plywood 60 x 90cm)
(Framed and ready to hang, overall size 82 x 112cm)
 
This is Macauley Jacobsen aka Harley Noah, Beeston’s drag queen. I was able to spend a few hours with her and the Mannequin as they prepared for a gig in Nottingham.
 
It takes hours to prepare fully, and here Harley is pictured mid-transformation. The Mannequin, another local drag artist, is applying the extravagant make-up which creates the spectacular Harley Noah!
 
Harley Noah has lived in Beeston all her life and regularly appears at events around the town.
 
When I started this portrait I had an idea to paint Harley at the end of the transformation process, but I then realised I had been given an opportunity to capture a stage which most will never see.
 
I was pleased to have been able to capture the delicacy in Harley’s facial expression and the concentration in the Mannequin’s.
 
This painting has been selected for exhibition in the D31 Galleries Spring Open Exhibition and will be on view at the exhibition from 22nd April to the  18th June