Renowned artist, Mark Demsteader, has created a stunning collection of portraits of Emma.

The collaboration came about when Emma contacted Mark about buying some of his work as a present to herself for her 21st birthday.

“There is a gallery in Oxford that I used to look in after school which exhibited Mark's work”, says Emma. “His paintings were always my favourite. For my 21st birthday I decided to contact Mark to buy some of his work. When he asked if could paint a series of paintings of me, I was a bit nervous about the idea at first but obviously incredibly flattered - it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down. I am Mark's biggest fan and I am hugely grateful."

The collection, which is to be exhibited at the Panter & Hall Gallery on Bury Street in London in June 2011, will comprise 34 portraits of Emma in different mediums – charcoal and gouache drawings, ink paintings and oils.

Mark said of the “EMMA” collection:
“It has been a wonderful privilege to work with Emma on these images. The idea behind them is to make a collection to celebrate Emma’s birthday. I wanted to capture a moment in time, and by making each piece a quick snapshot, I hope to capture Emma as she reaches 21. In some way I hope these works celebrate Emma in what she has achieved already, and in all the many possibilities to come.”

Mark has kindly agreed that 10% of all sale proceeds and one of the pieces will be donated to Emma’s charity of choice, CAMFED International, a charity which supports the education of girls and economic empowerment of young women in Africa.

The chance for her work to help those less fortunate than her was the icing on the cake for Emma. She said, “I am really excited that Mark said he would support CAMFED International with this exhibition, too. They are a great charity doing an amazing job educating girls in Africa.”