Portraits of global environmentalists on display

A portrait artist from near Bristol is painting 193 environmentalists from around the world, with the first 50 portraits currently on display.

The Global Portrait Project by Dr James Nickells is exhibited at Three Storeys in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, until Sunday afternoon.

Dr Nickells, an anaesthetist at Bristol's Southmead Hospital, aims to paint one portrait for every country.

"It's a hopeful message," he said. "It shows how we are all on this planet together, and there are people in every country passionate about the environment."

With a lifelong passion for painting, Dr Nickells turned professional in 2005, initially focusing on medical illustrations and wildlife. In 2021, following the Covid-19 outbreak, he transitioned to portraiture.

"I think it was driven by missing people's faces," he said.

He launched the Global Portrait Project in 2023, choosing subjects involved in positive environmental efforts within their countries. Rather than using traditional oil paints, he works with ink on paper, a challenging medium due to its quick-drying nature.

"It's a very committed method of painting," he explained. "Not particularly suited to portraits, but I love the excitement of it."

His portraits stand out for their expressive emotions, breaking from the traditionally stoic style.

"People say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but I think the mouth really conveys emotion," he said.

The idea for the project took shape after he painted a subject from Mexico and decided to take on the challenge of painting people from all countries.

"As the project has developed, it's become a really lovely thing," said Dr Nickells. "There's a strong sense of connection in identifying people doing incredible environmental work."

His subjects range from grassroots activists to individuals making national impacts.

Some are involved in local initiatives like beach clean-ups, while others, such as Dr Kristal Ambrose, from the Bahamas, have influenced government policy.

She successfully lobbied for the first ban on single-use plastics and Styrofoam in the Bahamas.

Dr Nickells says he has been working through the portraits alphabetically and is currently painting a subject from the Dominican Republic.

However, he says he faced challenges finding a representative from North Korea. Instead, he painted a figure with their back turned, taken from a public photograph of a North Korean shopping scene.

All portraits have been created through online correspondence, and he has only met two of his subjects in person, Sophie Anderson, a Danish anti-food waste activist, and Dr Ambrose.

The first 50 portraits were unveiled at Three Storeys in Nailsworth on Thursday, marking the first time Dr Nickells saw them all together.

"It was quite emotional," he said. "Seeing all the faces together, you realize there are passionate, engaged people in every country. It makes us feel much more connected."

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