Meet the muses behind the paintings of three of the UK’s brightest artistic talent: “the first time I met James, I crashed into a barbecue in the garden. It was quite an entrance,” says Laura Searle, who was studying at the London College of Fashion and working for Marques’Almeida when she moved next door to Hayes’s west London studio. “I felt really free, and that’s when you feel really beautiful,” says Searle of the experience of being painted, “but you also get to establish a beautiful connection and that’s what happened with James and I. We are great friends. When I look at those paintings, I don’t see paintings. I see memories of a very happy time in my life.” Link in bio more about the story about chemistry in art.⁠ 📷 @jameshayesportraits and Laura Searle © @lydiagoldblatt⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #muse