GYPSY QUEEN | Polly Gray
I painted Polly Gray (Shelby) from Peaky Blinders in honour of the late Helen McCrory who passed last month at only 52.
I adore Helens raw, visceral performances, particularly as the Queen of the gypsies, Polly Shelby in Peaky Blinders. An exemplary character study of a strong woman in a world full of damaged men. The way she brought the effortless magic through the eyes of that Birmingham gypsy, reminding us just how much women endured, overcame. A mirror to her own life, in which she fought cancer whilst managing a successful acting career.
“If I come for you--and I still might yet decide to come for you--I will wear high heels so you can hear my approach on the cobblestones and have time to repent....You listen for my footsteps.”
What is remembered lives…