A BOSCOMBE man has won a prestigious opportunity to have his work showcased in an exhibit for all to admire.

Adilson Naueji met a woman called Maureen at the Boscombe bus station near the Sovereign Centre which led to the striking and perceptive portrait that won the first Lighthouse Open Call Exhibition.

Bournemouth Echo:

The opening theme of the exhibition competition was ‘Life in Dorset’.

Adi was originally from Angola but moved to Boscombe with his wife and two children.

Adi said: “I met Maureen three years ago, not very long after I first started painting,” explains Adi.

“I had been to a workshop led by Mark Perry at BEAF in Boscombe and I asked him about how he chose his subjects for portraits.

“He told me to trust my eyes, so when I saw Maureen in the bus station as I was walking home I sat and chatted to her for a while then asked if I could take her picture and turn it into a portrait. She was a little surprised but she agreed.”

“We’d lost touch, but on the day of the festival, I saw Maureen completely by accident and took her to the painting.

"It was a bit of a shock for her, but she said she really liked it and we’ve been in touch a few times since then. She’s very pleased it is being shown at Lighthouse.”

“When I paint, I have to make the connection between people and the place they are in,” he says.

“Boscombe has been good to me. It’s where I feel safe and so does my family – we still live in the same house we came to six years ago.

“Some people say bad things about Boscombe, but they’re not the people who live there. It is a place of welcome with a vibrant, inclusive community. It’s my home.”

“Adi’s prize for winning the first Lighthouse Open Call is to present a solo exhibition – his first – at Lighthouse next year.”

The painting titled 'Maureen' is on show in Lighthouse Open Call Exhibition in the Gallery at Lighthouse until 11 May.