A BOLD, vibrant and large-scale painting of Scottish music icon Horse McDonald will enter Scotland’s national collection and go on display at the heart of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG) in the Great Hall.

This compelling oil painting by artist Roxana Halls captures McDonald’s charismatic and enthralling performance style, beloved by her fans. As part of the creative process of the portrait sitting, McDonald sang her best-loved song Careful, for the artist in her London studio.

This experimental session resulted in a portrait which is an amalgam of all the live moments, mannerisms and movements Halls witnessed while McDonald performed.

McDonald said: “I was incredibly flattered and grateful to have my portrait painted by Roxana. We spent a lot of time talking and sharing our experiences, finding so much in common in our work and lives. The journey which brought us together and then, in turn, the fates that continued for the portrait to then be acquired for the SNPG, is nothing short of magical.

“I was both shocked and thrilled when I saw the painting because not only has it captured the energy and the passion of the ‘me’ I feel inside, but it is very much a Roxana Halls painting. I cannot find the words to express my pride, honour and privilege to be on display amongst our nation’s peers and generations of dignitaries. This is something I could never, ever have envisaged. I am most humbled at the thought of children seeing my portrait in such a setting and finding inspiration and courage from it.”

Halls said about McDonald: “I can hardly recall a time when I wasn’t aware of her, not only as a much-admired vocalist and songwriter, but also as a lodestar for the LQBTQ community. When I finally had the opportunity to see her in concert I was struck by the combination of a fearlessness and charisma I had anticipated, with a rare tenderness, which I had not – a tension which I hoped to capture in this portrait.”