Standing in a picture gallery among a crowd of well-wishers whose portraits hang on the walls is a strange, rather surreal, experience, particularly when the paintings are so well executed, they are instantly recognisable. The exhibition in question is Portraits, at Wolfson College until February 27. The 11 pictures on show are the work of a very talented young artist, Tahmina Sorabji, who works in pastels to capture both the sitter’s face and their personality, along with that certain something that makes them special. She does this by painting her subjects in their own surroundings where they feel comfortable, so that she can embrace the whole person.

Tahmina trained as a typographic designer at the London College of Printing and worked as a graphic artist for many years before studying Fine Art and Education. On moving to Oxford in 2002, she began painting portraits of family and friends. These works proved so successful that portraiture is now taking over her life.

She begins a picture by crashing gouache and paint on to the canvas to rid it of that threatening white, unspoiled appearance. Not for her a few gentle strokes to outline the face, which are then carefully filled in. Only when she has worked, and sometimes reworked, the background, can she begin to layer the pastels.

Using her palette as a pointillist painter, but running thin, individual strokes of contrasting colour rather than dots to highlight certain features, Tahmina adds colourful surprises to her canvases. The result is a work that shimmers with life. Her portraits are stunning, for not only does she secure the features that distinguish one sitter from another, she manages to bring out the inner person too.

Among those included in the exhibition are her father, Prof Richard Sorabji (see above). None of these works is for sale as they are all private commissions. Tahmina’s aim is to show the world just what she can do, in hope that more commissions will follow. If you would like to discuss a commission of yourself, a friend, colleague or family member you can contact her on tahminas@live.co.uk