A Fife man has joined the art elite after being elected as a member of the prestigious Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RSPP).
Mark Roscoe, who lives in Kirkcaldy, has made a name for himself painting for both public and private collections and has successfully completed over 100 commissions for a variety of clients, companies and institutions around the globe.
Until now, he had been an associate member of the RSPP, which meant he was entitled to exhibit two paintings each year in the society’s annual exhibition in London.
But now he has reached the pinnacle of his career so far after being voted on to the society, which promotes excellence in the art of portraiture, as a full member.
“It’s a pretty big deal so I’m very very happy,” he said.
“Membership of the society is for life and the numbers are restricted to about 55 so there is only a space when an existing member dies.
“It has been a struggle and I have given everything I could to get to this stage.
“Since graduating from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in 1998 I have been an artist and portrait painter, taking on commissions and exhibiting art throughout the UK but it’s hard.
“I spent many years in part time minimum wage employment to have a regular wage and sacrificed so much of my time entering competitions with no success.”
Mark said he has recently “felt at home” with the society after winning a number of prizes, including the Changing Faces Prize in 2012, which is a £2000 commission to paint or draw someone with a facial disfigurement.
With the commissioned portrait he went on to win the Ondaatje Award, which is a £10,000 cash prize and a gold medal for the most distinguished portrait in the Society’s annual exhibition – a particular highlight as he had looked up to many past winners.
One of the crown jewels though has been his 2015 painting ‘The Faculty of Advocates’, which has been on show in London for the last three weeks and will be displayed at Parliament House in Edinburgh.
Describing it as the “most time consuming and technically difficult” work he had ever faced, he added: “There is no guidebook on how to go about this type of painting so you are on your own, forced to invent and reinvent technique to make it possible.
“Every person within the painting had individual sittings which meant it was extremely difficult to judge their size compared with the person sitting next to them.
“But more difficult than all of the technical problems faced in the painting was the fact that I work from home and share the childcare with my wife so I was literally painting between nappy changing, potty training, nursery runs, meal times, more nappy changing and playing monsters with my kids.
“This was the greatest achievement of my life!”
