Meet the Aintree artist whose work has impressed the Liverpool FC players she paints
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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Hide Ad“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.”
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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Hide AdAbigail 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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Hide Ad“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.
“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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Hide AdAbigail 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.
“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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Hide Ad“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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Hide AdShe 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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Hide Ad“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]