When it comes to her artwork, interesting personalities are what grab the attention of 22-year-old portrait painter Roshni Hirani.

"I’m a real people person," says the Harrow-based artist, "but I tend to paint people I know.

"In the past I did a portrait of my mum and I've just finished painting a boy I meet up with at Whitechapel Gallery for a youth project. I’ve painted him as I find him interesting as a person, and as with all my portraits, I wanted to convey that to my audience.

"His hair is fantastic in terms of colour. Trying to achieve the colours in his hair has been a real challenge. When you first look, it’s dark brown in colour. But inspect it closer, and it’s got these wonderful purples and greens in there.

"It’s almost Afro in texture, but the fuzziness is just wonderful, and I really wanted to capture that."
Roshni, who is currently studying Fine Art at the University of East London, is also the Young Associate Artist at Harrow Arts Centre.

On August 9, she will host her first solo exhibition Hidden Gems, featuring portraits and photographs, at the Harrow Arts Centre.

Right now she’s putting the finishing touches to works for the show, which will be inspired, she says by her experience of working with young people in different workshops and youth forums in London.

"As far as I can remember I have been creating artworks," explains Roshni, who was selling paintings as young as 14. "My parents Bharti and Harrish have really encouraged me; both of them noticed that as a young child I was drawn to my pencil colours rather than anything else.

"I loved the sciences at school, but could never step away from art."

In April 2013, Roshni was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ Annual Open exhibition, the first art competition she had ever entered.

As well as her passion for portraiture, she also loves taking photos, so much so she took part in a photography project with the National Portrait Gallery in 2012, working alongside prestigious photographers Anderson and Low and Nadav Kander. The result was an exhibition at Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green later that year.

"I do produce a lot of photography," says Roshni, "I find both mediums work well together.

"I take a lot of candid photos and they’re very abstract, in stark contrast to my portraits which are representational.

"I tend to produce my paintings from photos as it is; I prefer to do that than from life, as I have the freedom of painting over a long period of time. Working from life, well you’re quite restricted, lighting changes and you have to produce the piece in a certain period of time.

"But both my photography and portraiture are very observational, when I take a photo, the colours I pick up on tend to fester in my mind and this in turn, feeds my portraiture."

Roshni Hirani: Hidden Gems will be at Harrow Arts Centre from August 7 until September 1.

Details: www.roshnihirani.com