I have painted several Jane Austen portraits, trying to capture different aspects of her personality.

This is the first portrait I painted
for the book and is based on Cassandra’s sketch.

This painting was inspired by the silhouette believed to be of Jane Austen. I imagined her sitting at her writing desk in Steventon rectory.

The Rice portrait is believed by many to be a painting of Jane Austen as a young girl. I saw the similarities in the features and face shape as in Cassandra’s sketch and produced this painting as a result.

I wanted to see if I could paint in Jane’s features to produce a likeness based on this well known silhouette.

Cassandra’s water colour painting shows Jane seated with her face away from the viewer. I wanted to make her turn around.

This is another painting based on Cassandra’s sketch but Jane is in a more reflective mood.

Effusions of fancy came about as a result of my frustration at the lack of images of Jane Austen and in January 2001
I started to research and draw for the book. As an artist, Cassandra's little sketch, now housed in the National Portrait Gallery, fascinated me. For those of you who have not seen the real thing, it really is a very beautiful little drawing and sadly does not seem to reproduce well in books etc. In reality, it is a very delicate watercolour painting, executed in pale washes with very fine detail. Cassandra, the novelist's sister, who painted it must have had wonderful eyesight and a very steady hand! The reproductions we see in books are often over large and heavily printed and have, I believe, contributed to the myth that Jane was a cross looking spinster who lived a quiet life in a rectory. I wondered if by examining Cassandra's sketch and by studying the faces, portraits and silhouettes of other family members I could find the Jane I could see in my head, the personality that leaps from the pages of her novels and letters, the pretty girl who laughed at life and loved to dance.

From Cassandra's sketch I noted the round face, small mouth, longish nose and chin. I wanted to keep the essence of this sketch and I had to take into account the slightly odd alignment of the eyes. I looked particularly at portraits of her father from whom I believe she inherited the shape of her face and at Henry whom she was meant to favour in looks. I produced a portrait of Henry which is inspired by one of him as a clergyman. I have fleshed out his face, lifted his eyes and given him back his hair, thereby transforming him into a younger man. I think he must have been very handsome and dashing in his youth. A portrait believed to be of Cassandra shows a similar shaped face, small mouth and the dark curly hair as in Cassandra's sketch. There have been many fine portraits of Jane attempted and executed but we will never really know what she looked like. This is a portrait as close as I could make to Cassandra's but hopefully one that shows a sparkle of youth and the optimism and hope which were fine elements of her personality.
The Austen Family painting was inspired by a number of paintings and silhouettes of Jane's parents, brothers and sister Cassandra. I had a lot of fun trying to convey their individual personalities and I hope you approve!