About Me
Christine Youldon
Artist
Christine is a portrait artist with a gift for capturing more than just a likeness. Her oil paintings reveal the personality and essence of her sitters.
From a young age, Christine had an innate talent for portraying people. At school, her sketches of classmates drew admiration, and her path to art seemed clear. Yet, after excelling in her A-levels, she made the surprising decision to turn down a place at art school, choosing instead to pursue a career in law.
Her subsequent legal career proved invaluable in honing her understanding of people, a skill she now channels into her art. After years of practising law, the irresistible pull of painting brought her back to the easel. What began as a personal project, a stunning collection of over 30 portraits of prominent lawyers, became a turning point. The series, nearly a decade in the making, featured notable figures such as Baroness Butler-Sloss, Michael Mansfield KC, and Cherie Booth KC (former prime minister’s wife), captured in sittings at 10 Downing Street. This collection formed the centrepiece of Christine’s debut solo exhibition in London, marking her transition to a full-time artist.
She then turned her attention to theatre subjects and sitters include British theatre icons Simon Russell Beale CBE, Dame Penelope Wilton DBE, Dame Sian Phillips DBE, and Sir Patrick Stewart OBE. These paintings are featured in another high-profile London exhibition supporting Acting for Others, a charity aiding theatre professionals in need.
Christine credits her interest in people and deep empathy for her ability to connect with her subjects. She approaches each portrait with sensitivity, aware of the vulnerability in allowing one’s likeness to be captured.
Christine’s work continues to resonate, combining technical mastery with an unerring ability to reveal the humanity behind every face she paints.
Bibliography
- Players : All the World’s a Stage Exhibition Catalogue
- Public Catalogue Foundation – (Merseyside Collection) – www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/artists/christine-youldon
- Lawyers : A Collection of Portraits 1999-2008
Public Collections
- John Moores University, Liverpool