Nampet Sae-Heng Gets Her Portrait Painted by Hazel Morgan, as Part of the Tutors International Mentorship Programme
OXFORD, UK: Eleven-year-old Nampet Sae-Heng has her portrait painted by artist, Hazel Morgan, as part of the Tutors International mentorship programme.
The Mentorship Programme
In April 2020, Nampet Sae-Heng joined the Tutors International Mentorship Programme.
The Mentorship Programme is the latest innovation from leading bespoke residential tutoring company, Tutors International. It supports students around the world who demonstrate aptitude, aspiration, and fortitude.
Nampet Sae-Heng from Norwich, England, is one of the students on the Mentorship Programme. In Nampet’s case, she is academically intelligent and driven, and and extremely talented gymnast and ballerina.
As with all of Tutors International’s endeavours, the Mentorship Programme offers above and beyond what is traditionally expected of it. More than a financial sponsorship for schooling, and more than just supporting formal education, the mentorship scheme offers extraordinary life experiences too.
In line with this, Nampet had her portrait painted by Hazel Morgan.
The Idea
Founder of Tutors International, Adam Caller, details how this came to fruition:
“Hazel Morgan is a member of my professional network. I saw her studio for the first time and it planted a seed, so I set the wheels in motion. Nampet is a sculpture model for figurative sculptor, Brian Alabaster, so she’d be a perfect sitter for Hazel. We’re always looking for new ways to support and enrich the students on our Mentorship Programme. Being painted is an extremely special and unique experience – especially by someone as sought after as Hazel. It’s exactly the sort of thing the Tutors International’s Mentorship Programme is for. Its about so much more than education as we traditionally think of it. Learning and education does not just happen in a classroom; it comes from formative life experience. In line with this ethos, Nampet sitting for a portrait artist is a bespoke and unique educational experience.”
Adam Caller
The sitting lasted for a few hours over three days at the beginning of September 2020. Nampet and her mother, Wanatee, stayed in one of Hazel's five-star cottages in the grounds of her Salisbury home, so that they could get settled on site.
Hazel Morgan
Hazel Morgan is a classically trained, award-winning portrait and equestrian artist. She has an international client list, including several Royal households. She has painted John McFarlane OBE and Her Majesty the Queen. Joining this list of subjects is Tutors International mentee, Nampet Sae-Heng.
Hazel explains how it came about:
“Adam had come over to stay and saw my studio beside the house, and that’s where the idea came for him to have Nampet painted. I like what Adam stands for. I like that he’s a businessman but also a philanthropist.”
Hazel Morgan
Sitting for a portrait is far from what is considered conventional education. Nevertheless, Hazel sheds some light on this:
“Art makes such a difference to people’s lives. That might sound like a very simple thing to say but it really does. I’ve painted people from all walks of life, so I get to learn what makes people tick. Our chats are a real journey of discovery. Everyone is fascinating. I would put it like this: if you’re the novel, I get to paint the front cover”
Hazel Morgan
Nampet is a student at the Royal Ballet School in London, so it was important to capture this part of her in the portrait.
After exploring different poses, Hazel settled on two: one sat down in a chair with Nampet tying up her pointe shoes, and a second, that came about more spontaneously. Hazel explains:
“Nampet was practicing her Ballet poses in my studio and she held on to one of my frames to support herself as she posed, and I thought, there’s the painting!”
Hazel Morgan
Nampet Sae-Heng
In her blog, Nampet details how she found the experience:
“Not many people get to say they’ve been oil-painted by one of the leading portrait artists of their generation! […] I felt so comfortable. Hazel did such a great job of putting me at ease and making the cottage feel like a safe, relaxed space. […] Hazel put a mirror in the room so that I could see what she was doing. I actually couldn’t believe how quickly Hazel worked – it was really impressive. Another way Hazel made the time go quickly was by putting on a Disney film to occupy me whilst she painted; it was called ‘Into the Woods’, and it was a fun way to keep me entertained whilst keeping still! […] When Hazel was finished, it looked incredible.”
Nampet Sae-Heng
Tutors International continues to find innovative programmes and practices to enhance education. The mentorship programme is currently supporting Nampet Sae-Heng and Tobias Zijlstra.
