As the nation marks one year since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, an artist from Andover, Hampshire, is busy creating two sculptures to commemorate her reign.
Amy Goodman was originally commissioned to produce the life-sized artworks as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, marking 70 years of devoted service. Since then, they have taken on added significance.
Amy says that the biggest challenge is the pressure of portraying someone so recognisable and dearly loved.
She said: “I’m at the early stages of her portrait. There’s lots of rough textures but you can see she’s beginning to emerge.
“But of course I want to try and capture that real warmth and that sparkle, that twinkle she had in her eye because she also you know apparently had a wonderful sense of humour too, so it’s sort of getting the detail but equally her character.”
Pictures illustrating events which took place during the late monarch’s 70 year reign will be engraved on the two sculpture’s cloaks.
Amy said: “Her coronation robe and the robe on the older version, I’m looking to local communities through workshops to pick up ideas pictorially of how I can inscribe images on her robes that describe her reign in the most poignant way.”
Amy is no stranger to creating landmark statues. The most recent, unveiled last month in Dartford, Kent, were bronze depictions of rock and roll legends Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
Amy is also behind the sculpture, unveiled one year ago in Princes Gardens, Aldershot, Hampshire, depicting Kulbir Thapa Magar carrying a wounded soldier from the Leicestershire regiment off the battlefield during World War One.
He became the first Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross.
She also created the Airborne Soldier, also in Aldershot, unveiled in 2019.
Amy also created the life-sized bronze war horses at Arborfield Garrison in Berkshire, as well as the famous war horse in Romsey, Hampshire, unveiled in 2015.
It is a time-consuming process, requiring a steady hand and lots of patience.
Amy said: “It’s sort of a stepping stone from drawings to maquettes, to then life-sized clay and then into the foundry for moulding and casting. So it’s a very labour-intensive process.”
The sculptures will eventually take pride of place in Romsey and Andover.
