Paul Newton Kate and Barbie (a portrait of Kate Fischer)

Paul Newton’s portrait of Kate Fischer was not intended to flatter the sitter. Instead, it is concerned with capturing the vulnerable side of the model and television personality. 'I really wanted to convey Kate as a woman clinging on to her childhood,’ Newton says. After testing a couple of poses, he decided to paint Fischer in an awkward stance, clutching a Barbie, representing both her fame and vulnerability.

Although Newton has painted many famous people, he says he still finds the process 'gruelling’. Fischer’s portrait took about six weeks to complete and Newton admits that, 'as with others, I found painting this portrait emotionally demanding; it’s not until the painting is nearly finished that I become really comfortable with it’.