Brendan Behan and Lucien Freud

McFadden is self-taught, and likes to read the authors’ work while creating the portraits. He uses a palette knife and layering technique to achieve his unique style. “The palette knife is like a little trowel used by builders,” he says. “Instead of building walls I use it to build impressions of people, layer upon layer.”

Conor Goodman, Irish Times

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