Tarran gets chance to put Di in the frame

7:04pm Friday 17th August 2007

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PORTRAITS of Princess Diana drawn by a Swindon illustrator will soon be on coffee tables across the globe.

Tarren Malham, 27, was one of only 130 artists worldwide chosen to produce images of Diana for a book that is an artistic tribute to her life and commemorates the tenth anniversary of her death.

Tarren, of Westlea, said it was a huge honour to be included in the book, Diana In Art, which has been compiled by Mem Mehmet, who is best known for the book Madonna in Art.

"I was contacted by Mem Mehmet through my website, which has work that I did while I was studying for my degree," said Tarren, who is a professional tattooist at Skin Graffiti.

"That was about a year ago and I was really surprised when he said he wanted me to do two portraits of Diana for the book.

"It was a real shock and something that I'd never expected."

She was given a free reign to come up with any idea for the two portraits.

"The first one is of her with the Taj Mahal and the other one is more surreal," said Tarren.

"The author asked me what my ideas were, just to check they weren't too similar to something other artists were doing, but they were both fine.

"I was the only person to include the Taj Mahal, which I was surprised at, as it was quite a milestone in her life and when people realised that her and Charles had split up."

The pieces now have pride of place in the book, alongside work from other global artists, including Andy Warhol, Bryan Organ and Rob Surette.

"It is amazing to have been asked to been involved and I am so proud of what I have achieved," she said.

"My mum and brother have both been really supportive since I got the first email asking if I would like to be in the book.

"I worked really hard on the pictures and while a lot of artists have to share pages, both my pictures get a page to themselves, which I'm also really proud about.

"I've not got anything out of this monetarily - the reward is being published and that's far more than anything else I could ever get."

Diana in Art, published by Pop Art Press, is available now and costs £25.

To order online log on to www.dianainart.com