Colin Davidson is a renowned portrait artist from Northern Ireland, who graduated from the University of Ulster in 1991 with a First Class Honors Degree in Design. He is well known for his large-scale paintings of various famous people, including singer Mark Knopfler, Michael Longley and poet and playwright Seamus Heaney.
The Belfast Telegraph reports Davidson was initially approached by an attorney in May 2012, who asked him to take on his client, Brad Pitt, as a protégé and teach him how to paint.
Reportedly Pitt had seen one of Davidson’s paintings at the Royal Academy and was impressed. Davidson told Eamonn Mallie in an interview with Irish TV that he initially said no, saying he wasn’t a teacher.
“Look, I don’t really teach, I’m not comfortable teaching.”
Davidson suggested Pitt find a more suitable art teacher in London while he was in the UK.
Brad Pitt is not one to give up on an idea, however, and the attorney contacted Davidson again a few months later. This time the attorney was more persistent in the request and Davidson agreed to go ahead. In the interview (included top of article) Davidson admitted he very much enjoyed both meeting with, and also teaching, Pitt.
According to the Inquisitr, Davidson admired that Pitt tends to shun the limelight and “loves any opportunity to be a normal guy,” and said they had a great time working together. While he was working with the actor, he asked if he would be happy to pose for a portrait. Pitt said sitting for a portrait would be an honor, and the result can be seen in the image below.
It will be noted that Pitt has long hair and looks a little disheveled in the portrait. This is apparently because the actor had just finished filming World War Z at the time. However, apparently the artist is not finished yet and is currently working on another portrait of Brad Pitt, this time with a more clean-cut look and shorter hairstyle.
Reportedly the portrait of Brad Pitt is now housed in the Smithsonian Museum. Regrettably it is unknown where any art painted by Pitt himself can be viewed.
More of Colin Davidson’s portrait work is included below, first of musician Mark Knopfler and then of the late an Irish poet and playwright, Seamus Heaney.
