Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is a large acrylic-on-canvas pop art painting by British artist David Hockney, completed in May 1972. It measures 2.1 m × 3.0 m, and depicts two figures: one swimming underwater and one clothed male figure (the artist) looking down at the swimmer. In November 2018, it sold for US$90.3 million, which was the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by a living artist at the time.

Next time a dear friend sends me a WhatsApp message with the question, “Are you familiar with David Hockney?” I will think very carefully before I answer… Not always easy when timezones interfere with sensible thought and decision-making! “Of course is my response, I love Hockney!” I am sure he sensed my enthusiasm via WhatsApp as the next flurry of conversation resulted in me accepting the commission. I went back to sleep and woke up with a foggy niggling thought that I may have agreed to something against my better judgment. Re-reading the previous nights messages were of little comfort!

The process of understanding what the client wants and creating something that matches their vision and what I imagine their vision to be is sometimes challenging, but in this case it was relatively straightforward. He wanted the figure (standing on the side of the pool) in Hockney’s Pool with Two Figures replaced to represent someone else. My brief was that he had a very specific way of standing and this had to be replicated. I was also to add a rather beautiful Siamese cat to the composition; otherwise, I was to replicate the Hockney! The reasons for these changes were intensely personal, but I thought they added a beautiful sentimentality to the painting.

Besides being excited about the project I am always anxious about these kinds of very specific commissions as the last thing on earth I want to do is disappoint the client, and when the client is a friend I find the burden even more anxiety provoking!   Needless to say the Hockney gave me a few sleepless nights.

I wasn’t too worried about the cat; I just needed the correct photo of the cat to be able to capture what was wanted. The man on the other hand was probably the biggest concern. I had to capture the face, because it needed to be recognizable, and I had to capture his unique stance. I didn’t know the person I was including in the painting, so I was relying solely on what I was told, and the photographs I was sent (none of which were really clear enough to be able to paint a good likeness). I was determined not to lose the essence of the Hockney painting so the stance of the figure had to be very specific too to keep within this context as well. This resulted in having to work from photos which were not very clear, lighting coming in from the wrong angle, and photographs of the face looking in a completely different direction to that which was required to capture his stance, and “look“ when posing for a photo! The few remaining grey hairs I had are now white!

My very long suffering husband who worked diligently and tirelessly at helping me get it right!

Added to these woes was my inability to transpose anything accurately with this degree of perspective! I can copy what I see, foreshortening (seen in the arms and legs of the swimmer) I understand, and I realize it can look bizarre, so as long as I draw what I see I am fine. Trying to figure out the scale to transpose an A4 photograph of the Hockney painting onto an 80cm X 120cm canvas with all the angles was something I was starting to lose hair over, never mind turning white! It is usually my son who takes pity on his mother and steps in and sorts out my lines and angles, ( I might as well put his engineering degree to good use), but he wasn’t here to rescue me. My husband, bless him, took pity on me, and went to work on measuring all the angles, transposing the scale and helping me measure the placement of the figure, and the cat so the proportions were correct down to photo shopping them crudely (which was all that was required for this) into the photo of the painting, so we could get a sense of the proportions. Once all the lines were in place I was happy, I could be left to my own devices to draw out the painting. I (read Phil here) also had to keep checking as I painted, just to make sure things were still on track, especially when it came to the tiling around the pool!!!!!

Drawing out the Hackney

The more I drew, the more I gained confidence in what I would be able to create. Strangely I find this is usually how it is with me. Drawing forces a keen observation allowing you to get to know the subject and its idiosyncrasies. Clearly I am not David Hockney, and my style is very far removed from Hockney’s pop style so strongly evident in this piece, so this painting was always going be a copy of Hockney’s, with a very strong flavour of Eileen. I referred to my Hockney hack as a Hackney!

The stages of the painting as it developed

As stressful as I found it in places I loved every minute of the process, getting to know Hockney’s Pool with 2 figures more intimately, and being able to do something for a friend that has an intensely personal meaning to him. I love the thought of my works hanging in my friend’s homes. Every piece I do, whether for a friend, or a stranger will always have a little of me in it. It is even more special knowing I am able to share that with a friend! To my friend, and the friends who hatched the plan of the Hockney Hack (I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall that night) thank you for allowing me to be part of this. I will treasure the memory of creating this painting, and the fun we had doing it together!

The Hackney original
Acrylic on canvas
80 X 120cm