As part of the process for sitting for this portrait, Horse sang her best-loved song Careful live and a cappella for the artist in her London studio. Roxanna Halls has captured something of Horse’s charismatic and enthralling performance style in the picture. This experimental session resulted in a portrait which, rather than depicting one specific pose, is an amalgam of all the live moments, mannerisms and movements Halls witnessed while Horse performed and which she felt best encapsulated her sitter.

Roxana Halls (born 1974) is an English figurative painter known for her images of wayward women who refuse to conform to society’s expectations.

Image, National Galleries Scotland: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/roxana-halls