SWANSEA: He painted Bonnie Tyler to hand it to her in person. Now it’s the centrepiece of his first exhibition

Ian Hendry had the painting finished and the meeting arranged. Then Bonnie Tyler died.

The Swansea artist, who paints as PopDragonArt, had planned to hand the singer his portrait of her in person, the way he tries to with everyone he paints. On Friday it goes on a gallery wall instead, dedicated to her memory, as the centrepiece of his first solo exhibition.

“Through One’s Eyes: Icons Reimagined” opens at 1.30pm on Friday 4 September at the VC Gallery on Riverside in Haverfordwest and runs through the month.

The portrait he never got to deliver

Bonnie Tyler‘s death and her funeral at Swansea Minster last month brought the city out in numbers. Hendry’s painting, in the saturated blocks of colour that mark all his work, was meant to be a gift from one Swansea name to another.

He calls the idea behind his work “six degrees of separation”: paint a cultural icon, then find a way to put the finished canvas in their hands through people he knows rather than agents. He got a Kylie Minogue portrait to her on tour in Manchester, and in February his Snoop Dogg was on its way to the Swans’ co-owner through a Swansea connection. Bonnie Tyler’s is the one that did not make it in time.

Tom Jones, Zeta-Jones and the rest of the wall

The show is built around large canvases of Welsh faces: Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bonnie Tyler among them, with further pieces painted for the exhibition. The poster carries Gareth Bale in a Wales shirt and Amy Winehouse.

Hendry is self-taught, and describes the style as bold colour, striking detail and “unmistakable energy”. His following has grown on TikTok, where he posts as @popdragonart.

Barry John’s gallery

The venue matters to the story. The VC Gallery was founded by Barry John MBE, the Pembrokeshire artist and army veteran who set it up as a place where veterans and others could use art to get well, and who has since opened a second gallery in Pembroke Dock. His own work has shown at the Mall Galleries in London, and he holds a Pride of Britain award and an MBE for the gallery’s work.

Hendry says the show is “proudly supported” by John, and calls his backing for a debut “a rare honour”.

When to go

The exhibition opens at 1.30pm on Friday 4 September at the VC Gallery, Riverside, Haverfordwest, and runs throughout September. Entry details and opening hours are on the gallery’s own channels.