Title: THE QUEEN (ELIZABETH II) - Big Original Painting by Artist Robert Thirtle

Title: The Queen (Elizabeth ii)

Medium: Mixed Media on Blocked Canvas

Size: A0 - 1189 x 941mm 

Artist: Robert Thirtle

This mixed media painting of Queen Elizabeth II is more than only a portrait to me. It carries a deep personal meaning and tells part of my own family history. I come from a strong Afrikaans background, but my surname still carries the memory of a young St. John’s Ambulance man who came from England during the Anglo Boer War. In the difficult and painful circumstances of the Philippolis camps, a love story unexpectedly began between two people from completely different worlds. That story became part of the foundation of my family. My great grandfather and great grandmother.

Queen Elizabeth II came much later, but for me she always stood as a symbol of that faraway homeland and the British side of my ancestry. Her long reign represented stability, continuity, and tradition across many generations. Through this artwork, with its rich layers of colour and texture, I pay tribute not only to her memory, but also to the complicated and beautiful story of where I come from. This painting is my way of honouring history, family, identity, and the connection between two very different worlds that became one.