Chris Eastham
Chris Eastham is a painter and printmaker who took part as a contestant in Portrait Artist of the Year 2020.
Chris’s portrait of Zawe Ashton Portrait Artist of the Year 2020, where she successfully reached the quarter finals with her painting of the actor, Zawe Ashton.
Chris takes an intuitive approach to her work, especially when working from life. She responds mainly to the colour and energy of the sitter, trying to convey something of their inner presence. Zawe Ashton said of Chris’ portrait of her that it best conveyed her sense of fun – even though she sat poker faced for four hours.
Since appearing in the competition Chris has had solo and group exhibitions in the UK. Her most recent solo exhibition in 2022 was a collaboration with Northern Ballet depicting their production of Casanova.
She practices from her studio in central Leeds, where she also teaches some portrait classes at Leeds Print Workshop.
Although the figure remains central to her work, Chris also appeared on Landscape Artist of the Year 2019. From time to time, she enjoys painting the landscape in her native county of Yorkshire.