HE has painted some of Northern Ireland's best known faces and now artist Colin Davidson's work has been immortalised on the cover of Time Magazine.
The Belfast artist has painted high profile names including Seamus Heaney plus actors Sir Kenneth Branagh, Conleth Hill and Adrian Dunbar.
And now his oil painting of German chancellor Angela Merkel has been chosen on the cover on the iconic issue.
He follows in the footsteps of Andy Warhol, whose work has also graced the front of the publication.
Davidson added: “I have become increasingly preoccupied, not with a sitter’s celebrity but more with their status as a human being.
"Although likeness is vital in my practice, it is my hope that a sense of the German Chancellor’s dignity, compassion and humanity is woven into the paint.”
Time's creative director DW Pine, who approached Davidson about the cover, said: "For me, it’s about the eyes.
"The realistic detail of his subjects’ eyes draws the viewer in closer to fully appreciate the sculptural use of his bold brushstrokes.”
Mrs Merkel's selection was announced on Wednesday morning on US television.
The seven other finalists include Donald Trump, the Black Lives Matter protest movement and Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick.
Germany's chancellor was praised by the magazine for her leadership on everything from Syrian refugees to the Greek debt crisis.
"Leaders are tested only when people don't want to follow," Time editor Nancy Gibbs said.
"For asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply, Angela Merkel is Time's Person of the Year."
