MJ BOUCHIER Biography

British Artist MJ Bouchier graduated from UCCA, Canterbury, Kent in 2008 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. Undertaking her first commissions back in 2005, in Freiburg, Germany and for a local nightclub in Hertfordshire prior to her degree, she has since painted for celebrities such as Emma Bunton and Jermain Defoe. MJ Bouchier also painted portraits for the 'Miss Black Britain' runners up in 2007 and contributed to the 'Stars on Canvas' charity auction for the Willow Foundation in 2008 finishing 14th highest out of 290 canvases.

Last year MJ was asked to paint the winners from the Inspiration Awards for Women, held annually at the Cadogan Hall, London. This October 6th, the paintings were up for auction to help raise money for Breakthrough Breastcancer. Winners included Dame Vivienne Westwood, Joanna Lumley, Jade Goody and a special Lifetime Achievement award for Barbara Windsor.

MJ Bouchier's current practice focuses on portraying contemporary idealistic values based upon body image, the notions of beauty that women feel pressure to conform to and the genetic predisposition some have regarding self image. The realisation of what is an ideal of physical beauty forces one to question whether such ideals can actually be attained.

Her style questions the perceptions of painting by denoting a computer generated effect, of which verges on photographic realism.