ROYAL portrait painter Richard Stone, who produced two official portraits of Queen Elizabeth, has paid tribute to the monarch after she died yesterday.

Mr Stone, who painted official portraits in 1992 and 2015, said the Queen was always professional and that the two shared their recollections of the Queen Mother, who herself had a keen interest in art.

Indeed, the portrait of the Queen which has been used throughout the BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s death with Mr Stone having completed the painting in 1992.

He went on to recollect that the Queen, in approving of the portrait, commented: "It will make a good stamp.”

The comment was prophetic as the portrait, which hangs in Colchester Town Hall, was selected to be used as a commemorative stamp - the most expensive of the six chosen in 2013.

Mr Stone spoke of the common ground he and the Queen found during the sittings when he brought his portraits of the Queen to life.

He said: “During the sittings that I’ve had with Her Majesty, I was able to reminisce about my many meetings with her mother, and other members of the royal family.

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“She was, first of all, very professional.

“I’m sure the idea of having another portrait painted never filled the Queen with a sense of pleasure – I’m sure it was something of an occupational hazard.

“But when she arrived for sittings she would as me what I expected of her, and I would explain what I was trying to achieve in the hour I was allocated.

“She wanted to make the best use of my time and her time – she actually wanted me to make progress and will the portrait to come about.”

Mr Stone, who lives in West Bergholt, said portrait painters usually converse with their sitters throughout the period the portrait comes together.

When talking to the Queen, Mr Stone said the two enjoyed pleasant conversation, and that he began to form something of a connection to the monarch.

“In the course of a sitting, to keep the sitter animated, I would draw them into conversation.

“My mentor had been Sir Gerald Kelly, and he had been asked by the Queen’s father, King George VI, to do a portrait of Windsor Castle.

“So, I was able to share the experience of him with the Queen of how he commented on my work and encouraged my work – she was always very interested in that.

“Her mother was an art collector and the Queen would enjoy hearing my stories about what her mother had told me about the artists she had met.

“It was nice we could bring our own stories to the table and share them.”