Varinia is an invented name (by novelist Howard Fast) for the wife of Spartacus (1960) in which film Jean Simmons was cast in the rôle. Her screen portrayal was my inspiration for Varinia on canvas. By a curious coincidence, Jean Simmons lived just up the road from my parents before she entered a career in acting. Her last home in Santa Monica, California, is just around the corner from my cousin, once removed. Jean died on the poet Byron's birthday, someone I am connected to by blood, and, moreover, she is interred at Highgate Cemetery West, which I have written about extensively, and spoken about many with regard to supernatural occurrences on radio. Notwithstanding an expressionistic approach, I have returned to my Pre-Raphaelite roots for this portrait of beautiful Varinia, as depicted by Jean Simmons. The more abstract I ventured, the more classical my oil painting seemingly became. It was completed on 8 May 2020, and can be seen at my private gallery.
