It’s rare that I get the chance to do portraits. This year I’ve been commissioned to do 2! And this is the first that I’ve completed and delivered to the love Miriam Cooper, actress and friend.

She wanted a gift for her husband’s birthday and proposed a portrait commission celebrating him in the role he’s most famous for, that of Irish explorer Tom Crean, who was one of the unsung heroes of the Antarctic expedition in the early part of the last century, part of the expeditions with Scott and Shackleton. Aidan created the play and first performed it in Ireland for the Crean family over 10 years ago, and has performed it all around the world. He continues to perform the play to this day and is about to embark on another tour of it.

This is the painting that I made for her as a gift to him.