Nathan Wyburn
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Nathan Wyburn (born 24 October 1989)Griffiths, Niall
"First Person: Ebbw Vale artist Nathan Wyburn"
''South Wales Argus'', 10 August 2016. Retrieved on 25 January 2020.
is a contemporary Welsh artist and media personality who has created celebrity portraits (iconography) and
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
imagery using non-traditional media such as foodstuffs and other household items, including most notably working with
Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...
on toast. Wyburn has also been a finalist on ''
Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...
'' and on Austria's '' Die große Chance'', and has featured on shows such as NBC’s
The Kelly Clarkson Show ''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and segments about "ev ...
, ITV's magazine show '' This Morning'' and
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
''Landmark'', where he represented
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, Britain's Best Young Artist, Sky's Portrait Artist of The Year, ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'' plus both Studio10 and The Morning Show in Australia. He has personally presented works of art to ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' actor
Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...
,
Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...
&
Kate Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew u ...
, King
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
,
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
, Dame
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
,
Sir Tom Jones Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (born Thomas John Woodward; 7 June 1940) is a Welsh singer. His career began with a string of top 10 hits in the 1960s and he has since toured regularly, with appearances in Las Vegas from 1967 to 2011. His voice has b ...
,
Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...
,
Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...
,
Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Comm ...
,
Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
,
Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
and
The Jacksons The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...
.


Biography


Early years

Wyburn is from
Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...
,
South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
and studied art both at school, and at the
Cardiff School of Art & Design Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) is one of the five schools that comprise Cardiff Metropolitan University. It originated as the Cardiff School of Art in 1865. History Cardiff School of Art & Design opened in 1865 as the Cardiff School of ...
. In 2010 he posted a YouTube video of himself creating a portrait of TV personality
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
, made using
Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...
on toast. He was featured on the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
children's TV programme, ''
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...
'', ''
ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British news television channel of ITV (TV network), ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. ITN, Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the netwo ...
'' and ''
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
''. He received messages of support from celebrities including singer
Katherine Jenkins Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
.


''Britain's Got Talent''

In 2011 Wyburn appeared on the TV talent show ''
Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...
'', where he created a portrait of judge
Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is a British comedian, writer, and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents the variety and stand-up comedy show '' Mic ...
, again using Marmite on toast. He reached the semi-finals where his portraits of
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
were judged overambitious. This led to other television appearances such as Daybreak and Lorraine. He created an image of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, as he had missed out on the prize to meet her.


2012–2014

In 2012, during the
News International phone hacking scandal Beginning in the 1990s, and going as far until its shutdown in 2011, employees of the now-defunct newspaper ''News of the World'' engaged in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories. Investi ...
, Wyburn's portrait of
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, made from 5,000 images of alleged phone-hacking victims, appeared on the front page of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. Wyburn's work was also recognized as part of the
London 2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
under Education Relays when he held a one-off edible art exhibition, featuring British Olympians at Bournemouth Arts College. In 2013 he entered the Austrian talent contest, '' Die große Chance'', finishing in the last fifteen and gaining praise from
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...
winner
Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer, fashion designer, human rights activist and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). He came to international attention after winning the Euro ...
after creating her portrait using glitter. Other international projects included
toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice that is used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics of Human tooth, teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from th ...
art at the '15th International Dental Congress' in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, portraits of Felix
Ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...
fans using the product, a performance on the Spanish version of ''
Don't Stop Me Now "Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by the British rock band Queen, featured on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and released as a single on 26 January 1979. Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August 1978 at Super Bear Studios in ...
'' and appearing on a short segment in
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
'' Portrait Artist of the Year''. Following the death of
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
in 2013, Wyburn created a portrait of her using coal.


Commercial commissions

Brands such as Marmite, Bic, the Famous Company,
Oral-B Oral-B is an American brand of oral hygiene products, including toothpastes, toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, and mouthwashes. The brand has been in business since the invention of the Hutson toothbrush in 1950 and in Redwood City, Cali ...
, Costa,
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...
,
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
and
Hovis Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour, yeast and bread. Founded in Stoke-on-Trent, it began mass-production in Macclesfield in 1886. Hovis became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of mergers. RHM, with ...
have commissioned Wyburn. His work has been praised by celebrity admirers such as
Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting Tabloid jou ...
. In 2014 Wyburn exhibited at the Cardiff Story Museum. Previous exhibitions include Barnabas Arts House and Queens Arcade, Cardiff. In 2015 Wyburn created a portrait of
Princess Charlotte of Cambridge Princess Charlotte of Wales (Charlotte Elizabeth Diana; born 2 May 2015) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, and a granddaughter of ...
using 1,000
babygrow A babygrow, babygro, sleepsuit, sleep suit or stretch & grow in British English is a one-piece item of Infant clothing, baby clothing with long sleeves and legs used for Nightwear, sleep and everyday wear. They are typically made from cotton and ...
s, a portrait of Welsh rugby international Adam Jones using mud, and for
Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...
pizzas featuring five famous fathers:
David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...
,
Tom Fletcher Thomas Michael Fletcher (born 17 July 1985) is an English musician, composer, author and vlogger. He is one of the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarist of British pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder. In his 20-year ca ...
,
Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...
Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
and
Marvin Humes Marvin Richard James Humes (born 18 March 1985) is an English singer-songwriter, disc jockey, radio host, television presenter, and former actor. Before rising to prominence as a member of the British boy band JLS, he had an acting role in Hol ...
, in partnership with Morrisons supermarket. Wyburn describes himself as having a "Warhol-like obsession" with
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
and the notion of celebrity, and cites
Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
,
Chuck Close Charles Thomas Close (July 5, 1940 – August 19, 2021) was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealism, photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created photo portraits ...
and
Vik Muniz Vik Muniz (; born 1961) is a Brazilian artist and photographer. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim, and has been exhibited worldwide. In 1998, he participated in the 24th International Biennale in São Paulo, ...
as his main influences. In an interview with the BBC, Wyburn said of his own work: "It is current to current affairs and current to pop culture. I don't see why that should not be shown in a gallery, in the
Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
or the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
" adding "I do strive to be taken seriously. It would be nice to get that sort of recognition." After learning that he was to be included on the GCSE art curriculum in Wales, he said the possibility of being mentioned in the same lesson as Warhol was "mind-blowing". Wyburn has also been included on the website for ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...
'' franchise, and on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
with videos such as
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
created with
spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Una ...
.


2015–2018

In 2015 his book ''Not That Kind of Art'', featuring 80 of his works, was published by Candy Jar. In December 2015 Wyburn created portraits of
Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born on 29 May 1949 in Fo ...
and
Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Status Quo (band), Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in p ...
, from the rock group
Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
, out of matchsticks, inspired by their 1969 song "
Pictures of Matchstick Men "Pictures of Matchstick Men" is the first hit single by British rock band The Status Quo. It was released on 5 January 1968. The Status Quo version The song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart, number eight in Canada, and number 12 ...
". He also created images of
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
characters from food products, including lead characters Rey (
Daisy Ridley Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is an English actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Rey in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy. She appeared in the mystery film ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (2017), played the title ...
) made from
tomato puree The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was d ...
and Finn (
John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first gained recognition in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film ''Attack the B ...
) made from tikka paste. In 2016, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the
Techniquest Techniquest is a science discovery centre located in Cardiff Bay, Wales. It gives visitors a hands-on approach to science and includes a science theatre, a planetarium, and an exhibition space with over 100 interactive exhibits aimed at visitors ...
science museum, Wyburn created a portrait of scientist
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
using thousands of
Smarties Smarties are dragée chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about and a major axis ...
. He also painted a portrait of actor
Gene Wilder Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...
, using chocolate, as a tribute to the late comic actor. To raise awareness of
World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immu ...
on Dec 1st 2016, Wyburn created a red glitter portrait of singer &
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
icon,
Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...
, who died of the disease in 1991. In 2017, the Welsh language channel
S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...
, aired seven segments featuring seven artworks being created by Wyburn. These included a painting of
Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...
with his feet,
Sam Warburton Sam Kennedy Warburton (born 5 October 1988), is a Wales, Welsh former international rugby union player. Warburton played rugby for Cardiff Rugby and was first capped for Wales national rugby union team, Wales in 2009. He usually played as an F ...
with mud,
Zoella Zoë Elizabeth Sugg (born 28 March 1990), also known by her online name Zoella, is an English media personality, entrepreneur and author. She began her career as a YouTuber in 2009 and has since amassed over 10 million subscribers. Her debut ...
with glitter and
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
as Captain Jack Sparrow created using sand and seaweed on
Barry Island Barry Island () is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol Channel, has the wor ...
beachfront. In May Wyburn created an image of
Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...
for the British music company The Famous Company by using images of unsigned artists from around the world. In November 2017 Wyburn painted a picture of
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
using a
sausage roll A sausage roll is a savoury dish, popular in current and former Commonwealth nations, consisting of sausage meat wrapped in puff pastry. Although variations are known throughout Europe and in other regions, the sausage roll is most closely assoc ...
and ketchup, in response to an advertisement for
Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as baked goods, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is lis ...
which showed a sausage roll in place of the holy infant on their advent calendars. On New Year's Eve 2017, ITV aired a panel show hosted by
Fern Britton Fern M. Philomena Britton (born 17 July 1957) is an English television presenter and author. After beginning her career as a continuity announcer and a newsreader, she went on to co-present '' Breakfast Time'' in the 1980s and hosted the cookery ...
titled ''A Right Royal Quiz'' which featured a cameo appearance from Wyburn, showcasing some of his royal portraits including a new artwork of The Queen using pizza. This was shortly followed by an ad campaign by Dr Beckmann, a cleaning product company which commissioned the artist to use its carpet stain remover, to make a image of newly engaged
Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...
and
Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle, August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family, media personality, entrepreneur, and former actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son ...
by removing stains from a dirty carpet. In 2018 Wyburn created an image of the ''
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...
'' in snow at
Roath Park Roath Park () Cardiff, Wales, is one of Cardiff's most popular parks, owned by Cardiff County Council and managed by the Parks Section. It retains a classic Victorian era, Victorian atmosphere and has many facilities. The park has recently b ...
in Cardiff, alongside portraits of Jon Snow &
Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in Musical theatre, musicals on Broadway theatre, Broadway, she has been Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed the "Queen of ...
which were featured as a global
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
‘moment’. In April Wyburn performed live art at Wales
Comic Con A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at conv ...
weekend where he created several portraits of the special guests, including actor Andrew Scott. In July Wyburn created a portrait of
Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...
during the 70th anniversary week of the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
. The artwork, Wyburn's largest to date, took some eight and a half hours to complete and was made out of local materials, including 374 kg of garden soil and 74 kg of stone dust. In the same year Wyburn partnered with home improvement store B&Q to recreate a replica of the
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...
using leaves and a Bosch
leaf blower A leaf blower, commonly known as a blower, is a device that propels air out of a nozzle to move debris such as leaves and grass cuttings. Leaf blowers are powered by electric or gasoline motors. Gasoline models have traditionally been two-s ...
. Celebrity endorsements in 2018 included
Melanie B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...
and
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
who tweeted saying she "loves this" in reply to his portrait of her.


Recent work

In early 2019 Wyburn created artwork for Lisa Riley, for
Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band created in 1993 by the talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show''. Its most successful line-up was co ...
and for Dame
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...
at her show at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...
. Wyburn has since been commissioned for Mariah Carey's birthday present using silver glitter, and was then invited to meet her at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
. To mark
Saint David's Day Saint David's Day ( or ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, ...
2019, Wyburn created a large scale depiction of the Welsh patron saint, using garden bark and 1,000 daffodils, at the site of St Davids Bishops Palace. In May 2019 he presented a golden portrait of Dame
Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...
to the singer, created on behalf of the charity Noah's Ark of which she is patron, on the day she was given Freedom of the City by
Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the Cardiff County Borough Council, pre-1974 county borough council. ...
. Wyburn then went on to present
Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Comm ...
with artworks when she was awarded freedom of
Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
in July 2019. 2020 has seen Wyburn present artwork using lipstick to Caitlyn Jenner, using mealworms to Roman Kemp (after his stint in TV show ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series), I'm a Celebrity...'' and also to create Steps singer Ian "H" Watkins, alongside his Dancing on Ice same-sex partner Matt Evers, painted into an ice rink. The comedy panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' featured Wyburn's work when host Jimmy Carr pretended to assemble a portrait of himself painted with Marmite on toast. Following Wyburn's portrait of
Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...
in 2018, Nathan created a digital collage of 200 NHS workers as a tribute to "key workers" during the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired by the Clap for our Carers movement. The pandemic-inspired artwork was featured on several newspaper front covers in Wales, including the Western Mail and the South Wales Echo. Wyburn also featured on shows such as This Morning and American talk show Live With Kelly and Ryan to talk about the piece, and how to stay creative during the COVID-19 lockdown. Channel 4 featured Wyburn on their new quarantine-inspired ''Grayson's Art Club'' TV show, presented by artist Grayson Perry, where he created a portrait using noodles and soy sauce. In 2020 Wyburn partnered with Nutella & Smeg (appliances), Smeg Australia for a campaign titled "Stay toasty with Nutella". The project attracted media attention in Australia and he made an appearance on network breakfast television, The TODAY show to unveil a toast portrait of Karl Stefanovic. In June 2020, Wyburn created a 18-metre soil portrait of Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones for his 80th birthday in the grounds of Cardiff Castle. In August Wyburn unveiled a portrait of Gareth Thomas (rugby, born 1974), Gareth Thomas at Cardiff Royal Infirmary Sexual Health department, with Thomas present. The artwork was created using red fingerprints, to symbolise blood and identity, with aims of erasing the stigma around HIV.


Advocacy and personal life

Wyburn is gay and is an ambassador and spokesperson for several anti-bullying charities and campaigns. He is also a supporting partner of Pride Cymru acting as their youth ambassador. When asked, in a 2014 interview with eqview.com, whether he saw his LGBT perspective as playing an important/any role in his art, he replied: "I see it playing a huge role in my life in general. I don’t think I’d be half as strong minded or determined if I hadn't had to go through my teenage years facing what difficulties I did – bullying etc. I feel proud enough to create pieces of work that are supportive of the LGBT community such as Obama painted on the pride flag – and stand on stage at Pride events and show people it gets better." In October 2015 Wyburn took part in YouTube's first live 12-hour Stand Up to Cancer event, making coffee portraits of YouTube favourites Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee. The day raised over £120,000. Following the first series success, in May 2016 Wyburn modelled for photographer Thomas Knights, as part of his Red Hot 2 campaign. The exhibition and book is aimed at celebrating and rebranding the stereotype of List of redheads, red heads. In August 2016 Wyburn was placed at number 10 in "The Pinc List 2016", a list of the 40 most influential LGBT people in Wales. In December 2018 Wyburn was part of a team of people who presented a Christmas-themed fund raising drag show at St Andrews United Reformed Church, Roath. In August 2019, Wyburn was named as one of the top 5 Welsh LGBTQ people by ''Style of the City'' magazine, alongside the likes of Gareth Thomas (rugby, born 1974), Gareth Thomas and Russell T Davies. In September 2019, BBC Crimewatch aired an interview with Nathan, and several other LGBTQ+ participants about homophobia and hate crime in Wales. To mark World Mental Health Day, on 10 October 2019, Wyburn shared a candid post about his mental health problems and how important it is to talk about them. He also became one of the first patrons for the Cardiff & Vale Health charity, as well as patron for Welsh Hearts, Autism Puzzles Cymru and Kinetic School of Performing Arts. In 2020, Wyburn was placed 79th on the 'Most Influential Redhead Men' list by Red Hot 100.


Books

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References


External links


Official website

''Wales Online'' article

freelibrary.com article

''The Mirror'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyburn, Nathan 1989 births Living people People from Ebbw Vale Alumni of Cardiff School of Art and Design Welsh LGBTQ painters Welsh portrait painters Britain's Got Talent contestants