Poppy Critchlow (b. 2001) is a London-based painter who graduated from the MA Painting programme at the Royal College of Art in 2025, following a BA in Fine Art with History of Art from the University of Leeds (2023). Fascinated by self-expression and human vulnerability, she works primarily from life, creating portraits that reveal subtle, often unconscious gestures, anxious hands, glassy stares, restless knees. Frequently returning to the theme of “the other,” her work explores unease, perception, and psychological presence. Painting in oils, Critchlow builds compositions from a pink sketch, layering loose marks with precise lines, ghostly impasto, and watery underpainting. Unsettling colour pairings and clashing patterns heighten the emotional tension, while her spontaneous, instinct-led approach preserves a sense of play and immediacy within each work.