Lilian is one of an ongoing series exploring the idea of modern day sainthood and perception at a glance of individuals. I’ve been using ordinary people who you might pass by in the street, or consider unexceptional, but who actually have fascinating stories that you would never guess from a cursory glance at them. 

Lilian is no exception. She’s a vibrant young woman from Kenya, who with her husband Robert have founded a small orphanage that looks after over forty children from the area. 

The idea of the series was to challenge the way we assess people and to encourage the viewer to take a deeper look, to ask questions of the subject and hopefully to be more generous in the way they went on to assess others. 

They are all painted in oils on panel with gold leaf embellishments.