Impossibly perfect and subtly distorted, Peter Stichbury’s portraits comment on our own society’s obsession with manufactured beauty. The invisible brush strokes and fine attention to detail that have become synonymous with Stichbury’s work are no less impressive for their consistency. Whether his subjects are taken from reality or created within his own imagination, Stichbury pushes the boundaries of accepted attractiveness and explores our desire to see anatomically improbable individuals as our epitome. Stichbury transforms his subjects into caricatures of themselves and imbues each of them with distinct personality and clichéd individualism to highlight how truly distorted is our reality.Dating from 2007, Preston Proudlove is an example of Peter Stichbury’s more recent portraiture. Here his unusual use of sepia tones lends an air of age and nostalgia to the work. Preston has an aura of bygone aristocracy about him, like an old movie star or a young English Lord. Even his name, Preston Proudlove, seems infused with stature and high repute. His dark brows and perfectly coiffed hair indicate immaculate grooming and his posture, stiffly straight back, long neck and his ever-so-slightly-raised chin imply this man is as dignified as his name would suggest. He gazes to his left, his mouth slightly ajar, a perplexed expression bringing his eyebrows together, creating definitive frown lines on his otherwise wrinkle-free complexion. A shadow crosses his face, highlighting his sharp nose and defined cheekbones while simultaneously enhancing the bags under his eyes. Stichbury’s typical use of flat tones serves to fix Proudlove in an undefined space. The empty, black background pushes him to the forefront of the canvas even as he seems to be pulling away. The combination of Preston’s gaze and the shadows indicate there is more activity just outside the realm of the canvas. There is a sense of barely concealed anxiety in his enigmatic, botoxed face. This later work demonstrates Stichbury’s progression from earlier paintings (such as those from The Young Pleasure Seekers) that were plastic in the extreme – void of personality – to a more relaxed, almost frivolous approach. For all that his mysterious expression leaves us perplexed, it is undeniable that Preston is utterly brimming with personality. Sarah McCrory