The BP Portrait Award opened this week at the National Portrait Gallery. A lot of very good paintings as usual, including the stunning winner by Miriam Escoffet: An Angel at my Table.

On the right, however, I'll highlight my own (cropped) photograph of Rebecca Driffield's painting Claire Tomalin. A more painterly picture than some but I really like the style.

This year, the exhibition seemed smaller, although that might just be because it was a lot more cramped than usual. The usual, larger gallery space must be being prepared for another show (maybe the upcoming Michael Jackson exhibition). I think the smaller rooms detract from the experience and I hope they return to the larger space next year

See all the paintings here.