Hackney born artist Adebanji Alade studied on the Diploma in Portraiture at Heatherleys from 2003-2005 and went on to teach here at the school. He was the Vice President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) until April 2023 when he was elected President. He works prolifically as an artist. You can follow his work here.
Adebanji was recently asked to recreate Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic painting, the Mona Lisa. Channel 4 filmed a documentary following the challenge.
There is also a BBC podcast about the process.