Bonnybridge painter crowned Portrait Artist of the Year

A Bonnybridge artist has completed a £10,000 commission to paint Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti after winning a television competition.

Calum Stevenson, 23, won Portrait Artist of the Year with his painting of entertainer Barry Humphries.

His previous portrait subjects on the Sky Arts show included actress Kelly Macdonald and Pink Floyd's Nick Mason.

His painting of Benedetti will now be displayed at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.

Calum graduated from Dundee University's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in 2019, before completing his Master's degree at Glasgow School of Art.

He said: "There was a point in the first episode where they zoomed in on my hand and it was visibly shaking, which obviously isn't great when you're trying to paint.

"But I just had to get on with it, and I like to think I was a lot more composed by the end of the series."

He said his Dundee tutors encouraged students to apply for "every opportunity that arises".

He said: "When I saw the Portrait Artist of the Year show advertised I thought I would go for it.

"I had originally been scheduled to take part last year, but that got cancelled due to the pandemic, so to get a boost like this after waiting so long is massive for me."

Calum is now planning his first solo exhibition.

He said: "I never made a conscious decision to specialise in portraiture and would describe myself as a figurative painter.

"I've always been drawn to the figure, and there is something about it that I find really interesting, but I'm not putting any limits on how my work develops."