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The Independent
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Ex-chip shop worker becomes first digital royal tour artist
A former fish and chip shop worker has become the first official royal tour artist to document a state visit using an iPad. Fraser Scarfe, 38, said joining the King and Queen on their four-day state visit to Italy this week as the official royal tour artist was 'a real pinch-me moment'. The artist created digital and physical artworks of Charles and Camilla's engagements in Rome and Ravenna. Mr Scarfe, who worked at Mantles chip shop in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, before pursuing art, used an iPad to capture much of the visit, marking the first time digital art has been used in the long-running tour artist tradition. 'I didn't have much access to arts and culture when I was growing up, and didn't have a particularly creative community around me,' he said. 'To reflect upon my beginnings, and to have been involved in the events for the past few days, it's a real pinch-me moment, because you never in your wildest dreams imagine that you might end up doing something like this.' A royal tour artist has been personally selected by the King since 1985 to accompany overseas visits. Mr Scarfe is the 42nd artist to undertake the role. 'It's a huge privilege,' he said. 'Everything that Their Majesties do is documented so well by the press and the media, but I think having an artist allows a different approach and a different way of capturing things. 'You are able to capture the big moments, but there are a lot of things in between that you can record and document, and I think that's really important.' Mr Scarfe trained at the Royal Drawing School, founded by the King in 2000, where he studied on the fully funded The Drawing Year programme. He now teaches at the school as its head of education. Mr Scarfe was also commissioned to capture scenes from the coronation, with those works now held in the Royal Collection. The artist added that the King had long shown his support for the arts and the creative industries. 'I know how important it is to His Majesty to support artists and to be engaged with the creative industries,' he said. 'And I think for him, this is an important way of marking these occasions and historic events and creating a permanent record in a different form. 'As a painter himself, I think he's always interested to see different artists' interpretations of things like the tour.' During the visit, Mr Scarfe sketched scenes from major state events such as the Colosseum visit as well as quieter moments among crowds gathered to see the King and Queen. 'It was a historic and important visit,' he said. 'I was able to capture not only the important relationship between our country and Italy and some of the important events that took place during the tour but also the really nice moments between the people that had come out to see Their Majesties and the fantastic cultural and historical links between our great countries.'
Telegraph
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Meet the King's new iPad artist
The King has appointed his first 'digital' artist to capture an overseas state visit: a former fish and chip shop worker rejected from major art schools for being too traditional. Fraser Scarfe, 38, is the official tour artist in Italy. The King reportedly admired his choice of medium in the form of an iPad Mini. Scarfe, who now teaches at the Royal Drawing School, captured scenes from the King and Queen's trip to Rome and Ravenna on the device, saying he was keen to show how screens can be used creatively rather than just scrolling through content. He joined the Royal family entourage for the four-day state visit to Italy, with the King viewing some of his works on the flight home. Scarfe called the appointment an 'honour and a privilege', saying it was a 'no brainer' to accept the commission and be 'let loose' to capture the King and Queen travelled and the people they met. He created 15 digital works during the trip, using his finger or a stylus pen to draw onto an iPad. He also carried with him a traditional sketchbook, in which he made on-the-go observations in pen, and created another five or six paintings. He is the latest of the King's 42 royal tour artists. The first was appointed by the then Prince of Wales in 1985, with 69 tours over 95 countries being drawn and painted since then. The position is paid for by the King and was inspired by his own interest in art. A keen watercolourist, he makes a point of seeing the works for himself once the artists have finished their collections, and sharing his thoughts. 'Different way of capturing things' 'It was an honour and I'm very pleased that His Majesty values the importance of the arts,' said Scarfe, who has previously been commissioned to record his view of the Coronation. 'Everything [the King does] is documented so well by the press and the media, [but] having an artist allows a different way of capturing things. 'I know how important it is to His Majesty to support artists and be engaged in the creative industries. 'As a painter himself, he's always interested to see different artists' interpretations of things like the tour.' The King has been to see David Hockney, a pioneer of painting on an iPad, and spoke to Scarfe about his Italian pieces on the plane on the way home from the tour. 'His Majesty was very keen to say that I should use it as an opportunity to work in whichever way I see fit... no constraints,' said the artist, who added that he had tried to capture the big events, key locations and 'quieter moments'. He began his working life in his teens and early 20s in a fish and chip shop called Mantles in his home of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, after his applications to London art schools were rejected after secondary school. Scarfe founded his own studio and began creating art works anyway, before 'stumbling across' a course at the Royal Drawing School – formerly the Prince's Drawing School and founded by Prince Charles in 2000. He was awarded a full scholarship for the Drawing Year programme in 2012 and is now head of education delivery at the school. 'We don't want to lose the time-honoured ways of making paintings and drawings but I think it's really important that we look at ways that digital technology can support the creative industries and enhance them,' he said. 'My hope is that more people will start to use their devices for more creative means, rather than always consuming content.' His digital method, which uses an app called Procreate, allows him to work with a full colour palette while only carrying a small electronic tablet.
