For Isabella Watling, portraiture is as much about quiet collaboration as it is about paint and canvas. Her recent portrait Kyra began not through a formal gallery introduction, but via social media, an increasingly common entry point for contemporary commissions. Kyra and her husband encountered Watling’s work on Instagram and reached out online while preparing to move into a new home. With new wall space to fill, they decided to commission a portrait that would become part of their everyday environment.
Isabella Watling, Kyra, oil, 78¾ x 33½ in.
The painting’s composition grew organically from this exchange. Kyra herself selected the dress for the sitting, a decision that immediately resonated with Watling. The garment’s dramatic quality became a central visual force within the painting, allowing the artist to adopt a relatively subtle pose while still achieving a sense of movement and presence. Rather than relying overtly on gesture, the dynamism of the piece emerges through fabric, form and restraint. Watling describes her aim simply: to convey the sitter at their best. The result is a portrait that balances drama with intimacy, suggesting confidence without theatricality.
Alongside private commissions, Watling has also undertaken a number of high-profile portrait projects. Most recently, she completed a series of portraits of the 16 actors appearing in the film Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. Commissioned to accompany the cast credits, the project required not only artistic agility but significant logistical coordination. Watling credits assistant producer Leopold Hughes with orchestrating sittings for the busy cast, a feat she describes as both impressive and essential to the project’s success. The experience, she notes, was great fun and offered a rare opportunity to work intensively with a large group of performers within a tight professional framework.
Another recent milestone was the completion of a portrait of Malala Yousafzai for Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Watling describes the commission as a huge honor, marking a significant moment in her developing career and underscoring the growing range of institutions and individuals engaging with her work.
Despite these achievements, Watling remains focused on refinement and learning. Currently, she is dedicating particular attention to hands and clothing, areas she feels have not yet reached the level of naturalism she is striving for. This self-critical approach reflects her broader philosophy: that portraiture is an ongoing process.
In the portrait of Kyra, as in her wider practice, Watling’s work is defined less by certainty than by attentiveness, an artist listening closely to her subjects, and to the evolving language of portraiture itself. —
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