Debbie Caruana Dingli draws a line on watercolour portraits
Artist says she is moving in a new artistic direction
After 45 years and hundreds of watercolour portraits, the celebrated Maltese artist Debbie Caruana Dingli has announced she is moving in a new direction.
Caruana Dingli, a respected artist known for her ability to capture generations through portraiture, revealed on Monday via social media that she is “calling it a day on watercolour portraits”.
“It has been part of me since I was 18, that is 1980, and I have met some lovely people along the way. I painted children of those that I had painted as children. I now know that it is time to stop.” she said.
While she will no longer take portrait commissions in watercolour, she plans to continue painting pets. This, she made clear, is not the end of her artistic career, just the start of a new journey.
Speaking to Times of Malta, she said: “I just know it’s time. I’m not going to my drawing board, which is a big sign.” That instinct, she explained, comes from a shift in motivation. The spark that once fuelled her portraits has dimmed, she admitted. “It just came naturally to me,” she said, recalling her first portrait of her friend, Maria Grazia at the age of 18.
Today, she finds herself gravitating towards darker tones, a palette less suited for the lightness of watercolour. “I’m even painting darker,” she said, noting the stylistic mismatch.
Caruana Dingli wasn’t able to confirm the total number of portraits she painted over the years, however, if she had to guess, she said it would be hundreds.
Throughout, she was always open to feedback. If a client wasn’t happy with the result, she would often make changes, sometimes starting from scratch. “If they weren’t happy, I would tell them to be honest about it so I could correct it, if not even start again.”
One such case involved the late journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, whom the artist had known since childhood. Caruana Galizia had commissioned portraits of her sisters. “One sister came out pretty well but the other sister wasn’t perfect. Daphne wasn’t a big fan, but she didn’t say anything to me, she was being polite. Unfortunately, word got back to me and I jumped at the chance to amend it.”
Over the years, Caruana Dingli has painted numerous high-profile figures, including Lord Mountbatten, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, at least one former prime minister, and several business leaders. But she confessed: “All in all I don’t like painting men in suits.”
Her favourite portrait? One of her grandson, Marco. Most of her work, in fact, has focused on children, often around five or six years old.
The artist said she was “shocked but equally amused” by the outpouring of support after her announcement. While portraiture may be behind her, she is not putting her brushes down altogether. Pet portraits will continue for now but a new chapter is beginning.
“It will be a surprise; I don’t share work till the day,” she said. Though she remained tight-lipped about what comes next, she revealed that she will be experimenting with a new medium and theme. “I can’t wait to get started. As artists, we have strong gut feelings, and I rely on my gut feelings. And my gut feeling is that it’s time.”