I haven’t posted details of any of my paintings for a while, but this one is special.

I painted Heather’s aunt and god-mother Colleen Warren, who danced for the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company and ran the Colleen Warren School of Dance in the Hutt for many years after that. Heather also did ballet back in the day and aunty Colleen’s daughter, Wendy Jane, has followed in her mother’s footsteps.

Age hasn’t dampened Colleen’s love for ballet, and she continues to teach. Her comments on getting the painting: “Yes, it was Brian (my father in law and her big brother) who told me Clive was going to paint it. I was really thrilled, I just love it sooo much. There were a number of people who had commented on the picture when Emma posted it on the studio FB. The girls in the pic, (….. removed to respect their privacy) were working toward their Advanced 2 RAD Ballet exam. Not many go that far. Advanced 2 Ballet students are always last to leave the studio, often quite late at night. You can see these two have the most beautiful sense of line.”