“It was shock, nervousness, excitement,” said Gareth, who received the commission from Historic Royal Palaces for Hillsborough Castle. “I had just done a portrait of Graham Norton for the National Gallery of Ireland and there was quite a lot of pressure on that. I was happy with what I did and felt like I'd kind of got away with that one. So, I was thinking, can I do this twice?" The answer is, yes, he could. The exquisite portrait, of the now King Charles III, hangs in the drawing room of Hillsborough Castle. It depicts the King’s face in all its benign glory: a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth, a little something deeper behind the eyes, which stare off into the distance. His demeanour conveying wisdom and thoughtfulness. His generously proportioned hands and digits rest on his knees (“gardening hands”, as Gareth describes them). Viewers will see both the immediate likeness and whatever depth they wish to perceive. The portrait was done over three hour-long sittings, said Gareth, whose next high-profile appointment will be at The Open in July for the unveiling of a posthumous portrait of Portrush-born golfer, Fred Daly, for Royal Portrush Golf Club. "There were two sittings in Aberdeenshire, in Birkhall, his house beside Balmoral. It was just me and him in a little room, it was very informal. It was in…. I hesitate to call it a wooden garden shed... but it kind of was a glorified garden shed. “For the first sitting, it was just drawing and chatting, and I didn't really get much from that. The panic was setting in a little bit at that point. “For the second one, he had changed into a different suit, the one that he's wearing in the picture, and he was outside. It was a beautiful day and everything just clicked. “Then the third one, which I didn't really need, but obviously took anyway, was in Clarence House. That was brilliant. It was was in a sitting room, again just me and him, but surrounded by Monets, and Sickerts, and family photographs." Gareth admitted he was initially nervous talking to the then future King. “I was at the start. However, the thing is is that he's a great talker. He's just used to doing that, it's part of his job, talking to people, strangers, and being engaging, which he is.” The conversation, said Gareth, flowed in both directions. "He asked me questions. It definitely wasn't one-way traffic. He’s a good conversationalist, he talked about art, obviously he's got an interest in that, and the Prince's Trust, and the traditional skills and artisan crafts in Dumfries House." The yew trees in the background of the portrait are in Hillsborough Castle, which neatly anchors the painting to its home. “As is often the case, you just transpose onto another background. I went around Hillsborough and took lots of photographs there. I was looking for abstract shapes and strong compositional aids. I just thought the trees in Yew Tree Walk worked as squares in the background.” The King has, undoubtedly, one of the most recognisable faces in the world – high cheekbones, light blue eyes, a prominent nose, relatively thin lips, and neatly style grey hair. He has, said Gareth, a good face for portraiture. “It's his face. You know it so well. It’s strange, that part of it.” Painting a portrait is, he said, an “intimate” experience. “You've got this ability to do something you wouldn't normally do, which is scrutinise somebody's face while they know you're scrutinising it.” Thankfully, his (Royal) subject sat still and didn’t flinch throughout the sittings. “A tiny little movement can make quite a big difference to what you're trying to look at in terms of structure and skeleton. It can make something look wonky if they move just five degrees or so. The King didn’t want to see the work in progress, which, Gareth said, “took the pressure off”. The ‘big reveal’, and the first time Charles saw the portrait, was when the painting was in situ at Hillsborough Castle. "I think he was happy enough,” said Gareth, modestly. “I think Camilla was happy. That's a barometer, if the wife is happy. Somebody overheard her saying to one of her aides that she thought it was “the best one (portrait) yet”. I'm going to take that!” A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art and the Florence Academy of Art, Gareth’s career has been in the ascendency in recent years. In 2023 he was awarded Sky Portrait Artist of the Decade for his drawing of Dame Judi Dench, whom he described as “a lovely lady”. "I can genuinely say that I didn't even consider it (winning). In the footage of the end where it was announced, you can see my shock. It actually took so long to sink in. Two of my three daughters were there, which was brilliant.” Prior to that prestigious accolade, he had been named Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2017 for his painting of TV host Graham Norton for the National Gallery of Ireland. And if winning that accolade and the £10,000 commission hadn’t been enough good fortune, it turned out he and Norton were third cousins. "Some cousins of his thought there was a connection through my granny's side, the Reynolds in Ballymena, which came to light after Graham featured in the Who Do You Think You Are? programme." Research confirmed that Norton's great-grandfather was James Reynolds and Gareth’s great-grandmother was Christina Reynolds, from Ballymena. The two were brother and sister in a family of more than 10. After the discovery, Norton joked that he was "embarrassed for Ireland” and since then the long-lost cousins have “kept in touch and hung out together”. Born in 1974, Gareth, who lives in Glasgow, grew up in east Belfast, before the family moved to Comber. He attended Campbell College, followed by a year at the University of Ulster’s Art College. Growing up, his family “definitely wasn’t arty”, but he loved to draw and from a young age knew he wanted to be an artist. “Everyone draws when they're a kid, but most people stop drawing. I just kept it up. You get these little bits of encouragement from people, and then that kind of makes you want to do it more. I loved it.” That love shines though in his work, which is exceptional. He has painted a lot of well-known faces, including the British barrister and TV host, Judge Rinder, whose vulnerability is evident in the portrait. "He always comes across as quite an upbeat person, but to me he definitely came across as nervous and shy, kind of unsure of himself." Does he try to capture the sitter’s personality when he’s painting them? “No, that's too abstract a thing to set out to do. I think you just make them look as if they're at ease. "I think when somebody looks at ease, they look like themselves, and usually look good as well. I’m not out to flatter. But the poses that I choose, they naturally look good, because they look like themselves.” If he could paint anyone alive or dead, he’s quick to answer the late Irish playwright Samuel Beckett. Among the living, he cites actors Saoirse Ronan, Barry Keoghan, Daniel Day-Lewis, and singer CMAT. "There's a few rugby players, like Paul O’Connell – a massive big portrait of him would be good. There’s a lot of good faces out there.” *Gareth Reid will be doing a Q&A session at the Ballyscullion Park Book Festival, May 10-11, in the heart of Seamus Heaney country. Visit: www.ballyscullionpark.com