Artist praised for her 'warm' portrait of Duchess of Cambridge after official one was slammed as 'rotten'

Artist praised for her 'warm' portrait of Duchess of Cambridge after official one was slammed as 'rotten'... and now she plans to show Kate her work

• Norren Denzil, 47, was inspired to paint her own picture of Kate after official portrait by Paul Emsley was branded 'rotten' and 'unflattering'
• Hopes to sell for £2,000, with proceeds going to charity of Duchess's choosing
• Denzil's earlier work has been purchased by chief executive of Saatchi

By BIANCA LONDON

PUBLISHED: 10:53, 4 March 2013 | UPDATED: 11:25, 4 March 2013

She is one of the world's most beautiful and recognisable women, so painting an accurate portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge will never be easy.

But one woman has been praised for her 'warm' portrait of Kate - weeks after the official one was slammed by critics.

Artist Norren Denzil, 47, was inspired to paint her own picture of the former Kate Middleton after the official portrait by Paul Emsley was branded 'rotten' and 'unflattering'.

Praised: Norren Denzil has been praised for her 'warm' portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge - after the official one was slammed by critics

She spent three weeks perfecting her portrait of the princess, showing her looking relaxed and beaming warmly.

And now Norren has grand plans to show her hard work to the Duchess.

'The official portrait is technically brilliant but I don't think it captures the true natural beauty and personality of the Duchess,' said Noreen, who lives in Moulton, near Newmarket, Suffolk.

Inspiration: Norren was inspired to paint her own picture of Kate after the official portrait by Paul Emsley was branded 'rotten' and 'unflattering' and she is very proud of the result

'She has a great deal of warmth, which is why she is so popular and I wanted to show that in a portrait of my own.

'I'm pleased with the result and I've had a lot of good feedback, saying that my picture makes her look much more human.'

Perfection: She spent three weeks perfecting her portrait of the princess and critics have claimed it shows Kate looking relaxed and 'warm'

Noreen, whose past pictures have been snapped up by the chief executive of advertising agency Saatchi, used a series of photos of Kate as inspiration for her portrait.

In the final portrait she is shown dressed in a red suit which she wore on the Royal trip to Calgary in Canada.

Lady in red: Kate is shown dressed in a red suit which she wore on the Royal trip to Calgary in Canada

Noreen now hopes to sell the portrait for £2,000, with the proceeds going to a charity of the Duchess's choosing.

She said: 'I am going to contact Clarence House as I would like the Duchess to see the portrait and choose a charity for the money to be donated to.'

In the past Noreen has also painted Princess Diana, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Daniel Craig, Bob Marley, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix.

Warmth: Norren believes that Kate has a great deal of warmth, which is what she wanted to show that in her portrait

When the first official portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in January it was greeted with a global eyebrow-raise you could practically hear.

Though Kate herself, 31, said Paul Emsley's likeness of her was 'amazing' and 'brilliant', and her husband Prince William told the artist it was 'absolutely beautiful', critics dismissed it as unflattering, ageing and even 'rotten'.

Emsley even bit back at his critics, saying the aftermath of its unveiling felt like a 'witch hunt', but that there is still 'nothing I would have changed' about his painting.

Critical: Paul Emsley's official portrait was met by much criticism, although both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were impressed

Speaking to Hello! magazine, he said: 'Some of the words written about it were so personal. I'd be inhuman if I said it didn't affect me. When you take on commissions like this it is hazardous and you expect a bit of flak, but I expected nothing like the criticism I have received. I didn't expect it to go to the levels it did.

'It felt like a bit of a witch hunt and people who have not even seen my portrait joined in with what quickly became a circus. The worst thing is it was not only destructive to me, but particularly upsetting for my two daughters and my wife.'

Emsley said that the praise of the Duke and Duchess meant more to him 'than anything else said or written', but that he would urge people to visit the National Portrait Gallery since he feels 'half the problem is that the portrait doesn't photograph well'.

According to the gallery, the number of people visiting since the painting went on display on 11 January has risen from 24,000 over that weekend, up from 17,000 the week before.

The Telegraph reported that postcards of the portrait are the fastest-selling item in the history of the gallery's permanent collection.

Rotten: His portrait was described as 'rotten' and critics said that it aged the Duchess

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