Ex-Horncastle chippy worker ‘amazed’ to be royal sketch artist

A fish-and-chip shop worker turned official royal artist said accompanying the King and Queen on their recent tour of Italy was an amazing experience – and it was “very nice to be asked”.

The King has personally selected artists to attend overseas trips for the past 40 years, and he invited Fraser Scarfe to document the four-day trip in April.

The 38-year-old from Lincolnshire has built a successful career as a painter, author and teacher but he spent his teenage years in a very different role.

“I had a good few years in my teens and early 20s serving chips. I think I could still wrap a portion of chips from memory now,” he said.

Mr Scarfe used an iPad to sketch the royal couple.

“It allows me to work very quickly,” he said. “I can take that sketch back to my studio and work it up into a painting or a drawing later on if I want to.”

He sketched scenes from major state events such as the visit to the Colosseum and moments among the crowds who gathered to see the King and the Queen.

“I will have a few months now to reflect upon the work I made and to try to work some of those sketches into more finished paintings or drawings. I have got free rein,” he said.

Once Mr Scarfe has finished his work, the collection will be presented to the King for viewing, and one or more of the pieces may end up as part of The Royal Collection.

The artist’s ability to draw quickly and on the spot was brought to the Royal Family’s attention in 2023 when he was asked to record the Coronation. His work from that occasion is in the Royal Collection.

Mr Scarfe, who used to work at a fish-and-chip shop in Horncastle, trained at the Royal Drawing School in London, which was founded by the King in 2000.

Mr Scarfe now works at the school and exhibits his creations regularly in Lincoln and London.

“I didn’t have much access to arts and culture when I was growing up, and didn’t have a particularly creative community around me,” he said.

“To have been involved in the events for the past few days [is] a real pinch-me moment because you never in your wildest dreams imagine that you might end up doing something like this.”