Meet the Aintree artist whose work has impressed the Liverpool FC players she paints

Her work has been commissioned for players as well as signed, liked and retweeted by Liverpool legends.
Artist Abigail Rudkin with one of her Mohammed Salah piecesArtist Abigail Rudkin with one of her Mohammed Salah pieces
Artist Abigail Rudkin with one of her Mohammed Salah pieces

A Liverpool artist whose work has been given the seal of approval by some of the Liverpool FC players and legends she paints has spoken of how much the city and her football club inspire her.

Abigail Rudkin, 21, from Aintree, achieved an honours degree in Fine Art at Liverpool Hope University and began selling some of her work during the 2020 lockdown.

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“I decided to use the time I had at home to create work that related to the club that I love,” Abigail told LiverpoolWorld.

“I get inspired by the things that bring me happiness. I love to paint and draw our beautiful city and depict great moments in our club’s history.”

Abigail painted Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy Abigail painted Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy
Abigail painted Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson lifting the Premier League trophy

She is set to start studying a Masters in Arts Management, Policy and Practice degree at the University Of Manchester in September.

This will be part time so she will still be able to continue working self employed creating artwork.

Abigail’s favourite creations

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Abigail touched upon the work that has made her feel most proud, pointing out an older piece and one that is currently in progress.

She said: “I’ll always be proud of my painting of Klopp hugging all the trophies he has won with LFC so far.

“It was auctioned off on E-Bay for a cancer charity back in August 2020. But, with more recent work, I am most proud of what I’m currently working on.

“I’m painting the post-match celebrations between the players, staff and LFC crowd after the Barcelona 4-0 win.

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Social media has been an amazing space to show my work to Liverpool fans around the world. It has also helped me to connect with other artists, especially with LFC themed work.

Abigail captured the iconic moment Mo Salah sealed his hat trick in the 5-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford last year, a momentous occasion for Liverpool fans.  Abigail captured the iconic moment Mo Salah sealed his hat trick in the 5-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford last year, a momentous occasion for Liverpool fans.
Abigail captured the iconic moment Mo Salah sealed his hat trick in the 5-1 demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford last year, a momentous occasion for Liverpool fans.

“I can honestly say I have made true friendships with other artists because of social media.

Inspiration and recognition

Her club is always an inspiration to Abigail, as she added: “When we win I feel encouraged to depict the experience and express my love for the club within the art. I like to use bright bold colours to symbolise this.

“The night we lifted the Premier League I stayed up until 4am to paint Henderson lifting the trophy. It was worth it!”

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Abigail has been in contact with plenty of Liverpool footballing legends in relation to her work, as she said:  “I was commissioned by a friend of Adam Lallana to paint his moving away present before his move to Brighton.

“This was a great moment, something I never thought would ever happen. It’s always a good feeling when the player you’ve painted acknowledges your work, I just always hope they actually like it.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with his trophies won as Liverpool boss, but Abigail is hoping he will add to these this season. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with his trophies won as Liverpool boss, but Abigail is hoping he will add to these this season.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp with his trophies won as Liverpool boss, but Abigail is hoping he will add to these this season.

“Ian Rush reposted my painting of him onto his Instagram story in April of 2021.

“John Barnes liked a photo on twitter of the painting I completed of him.

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“Moments like that just make all the hard work worth it, to know that the player you’ve painted actually likes what you’ve created.

“I did a painting of Carragher and Gerrard in July 2020, which Carragher signed and took a photo with around that Christmas time, thanks to Carragher’s Soccer School.

“He also tweeted that it looked great under my tweet of the work in progress.

“I donated prints of the painting to the Jamie Carragher Soccer School on Marsh lane, Bootle in 2020.”

What’s next?

With a busy year ahead, Abigail outlined her aims for 2022.

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She said: “My main aim for my work in 2022 is to give another LFC player a piece of my work.

“I’m not sure how I’d actually get that to happen yet though! Another aim is to do some work for the club, to maybe try and feature in a match day programme one day.

“I don’t know how I’ll make that one happen either, but I’ll try!

Expectations for the season

“My hope for LFC for the rest of this season would be to win the Champions League again.

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“We’re currently 11 points behind Manchester City in the Premier league, it’s not impossible to overcome but it’s a big mountain to climb. If we could win both I’d be buzzing.”

Abigail’s work

To find Abigail’s work for yourself, check out @Art By Abigail R. on Etsy.

Alternatively, to ask about commissions, contact Abigail on Etsy, Instagram, Twitter or email her at [email protected]