The mother of the Essex who sold Malala’s painting for £ 51,000

Alexandra Johnson was already crying for the death of her mother when Cavid-19 hit the United Kingdom in 2020.

As a trader of the city, she had no official art qualifications, but she nevertheless decided to manage boredom and channel her sorrow by painting in her kitchen.

The mother of three continued to sell her works – painted exclusively with a palette knife and a spatula – for five -digit sums.

Earlier this month, his portrait of the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai sold £ 51,200 to the prestigious auction house in Bonhams.

“I always go for powerful women, not for (their) jobs and their careers, just for their inner strength,” said Johnson, who lives in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

Johnson left his job as a trader in 2002 to become a full -time mother.

She became a full -time caregiver for her own mother in 2017 after her cancer diagnosis, and Janet died in February 2019.

The 53 -year -old man recalled how really we are “when the first lock was imposed and that she was still” fresh in sorrow “.

“I do not think I spent five hours painting (at that time) but during locking, the pace of life had become much slower,” she told the BBC.

“I wanted to see how good I could be.”

His “incredible” mother served as “inspiration” for these first paintings.

Janet had already sacrificed his own health by giving a kidney to one of his brothers at the age of 60.

The painter said that she was eternal in the way women supported other women in the event of a crisis, and she described how her work made “tribute” to their “strength and grace”.

She says her paintings explore memory, femininity and resilience.

“I get back from my experiences. It’s personal, these are my feelings on a canvas, my favorite pieces are all that is my mother.

“I found it so therapeutic.

“I only do women, and I had very low points in my life and the women of my life just pushed me.

“We come from a large family of powerful women.”

Women wear many hats and turn many plates, she explained: “We take so much.”