Guardians of the Future

Oil on board
41cm x 41cm

Norman Long (BA, MAFA) was born in Preston (1976) and studied at Newcastle University and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. His work features regularly in London exhibitions such as the BP Portrait Award, New English Art Club and Royal Institute of Oil Painters. He is a prizewinner with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and was Artist and Illustrators Artist of the Year in 2013.

Norman is a member of the Northern Boys outdoor painting group, travelling to London, Venice and other locations to paint en plein air. He is a trustee of the Manchester Academy of Fine Art and has held over 20 solo exhibitions.

Norman also runs popular courses in Oil Painting. His first book on the subject was published in 2018. He lives in Lytham St Annes with his American wife Lindsey and three young boys.

I am intrigued with the sense of drama found in a public protest – the raised hands, voices, banners. I had painted a shirtless model from life banging a drum but had no context for him. Separately, in an attempt to open myself up to a broader range of imagery, I practiced cutting out any image from the newspaper which appealed to me. Guardians of the Future came out of the combination of these two sources. I wanted the dominant foreground figure to be in shadow to play with taking our attention beyond her.