Artist Andrew Bylo explains idea behind FIfty Two Times Two portrait exhibition at Scarborough gallery

A sequence of 52 portraits painted by Andrew Bylo form the latest exhibiton at Gallery 6, Victoria Road, Scarborough.

Called Fifty-two Times Two, the portraits were produced from life in two-hour sittings between last year and this.

“I’ve always returned to drawing and painting people more than any other subject,” said Andrew who has more than 40 years’ experience as an illustrator in the worlds of advertising and design.

Andrew has illustrated Transport for London posters, the Wimbledon 2000 poster and for GQ, Esquire, Tatler and Vogue. He has also worked regularly for Japanese clothing brand Dessin.

"While I can paint from a photo and create a likeness that looks like the photo I’ve been provided with, that’s not enough. Working from life brings with it a sense of engagement and understanding and takes both artist and sitter on a journey.

“For this project, I wanted an achievable challenge with a strict time limit: one portrait a week over one year. It would be a substantial body of work one year later.

"Each would be a manageable size, mostly 25cm x 36cm, acrylic on canvas, and would be completed in a two-hour sitting. Once done, I wouldn’t look back – I would move on to the next one. Often the best results come from instinct rather than over-thinking. I started last year after a self-portrait sparked the idea.

“I felt confident I could find 52 people I knew to sit for me and when I started on the first one, I presumed everyone would be known to me. But it grew of its own accord and strangers offered to sit for me.

" I was surprised by this. It is, after all, a very close and personal experience. I’m very grateful to all my sitters – I’d thought it might have been an imposition on people but I was wrong.

“This is a single work made of 52 parts, all essential parts of the whole. They don’t develop in a linear way or necessarily get better each time. There are just highs and lows and things I felt I could have done better.”

The gallery is open each Wednesday to Saturday, daily from 11am to 4pm. The exhibition runs until July 1. Entry is free.