watsonlove:

Emma portraits by Mark Demsteader.

“There is a gallery in Oxford that I used to look in after school which exhibited Mark’s work”, says Emma. “His paintings were always my favourite. For my 21st birthday I decided to contact Mark to buy some of his work. When he asked if could paint a series of paintings of me, I was a bit nervous about the idea at first but obviously incredibly flattered - it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. I am Mark’s biggest fan and I am hugely grateful.”

“It has been a wonderful privilege to work with Emma on these images. The idea behind them is to make a collection to celebrate Emma’s birthday. I wanted to capture a moment in time, and by making each piece a quick snapshot, I hope to capture Emma as she reaches 21. In some way I hope these works celebrate Emma in what she has achieved already, and in all the many possibilities to come.”

Mark has kindly agreed that 10% of all sale proceeds and one of the pieces will be donated to Emma’s charity of choice, CAMFED International, a charity which supports the education of girls and economic empowerment of young women in Africa.