King Charles's royal tour artist who started career in a Fish & Chip shop transforms role

As the , Fraser Scarfe stood in the corner, scribbling away on his iPad mini as he uniquely captured the iconic moment. The 38-year-old artist, who started his career painting teaching himself in a studio and paid the bills by working in a fish and chip show, was invited to be the King's tour artist during their four-day state visit to Italy - and is the first to work in digital art.

A form popularised by English painter David Hockney, Scarfe's impressive use of drawing on an iPad captured the attention of the monarch, who invited him to join a group of select artists to document the Coronation in May 2023. "I was positioned outside Buckingham Palace and was able to capture, through drawing and painting, the amazing events of the day," he said.

Scarfe, Head of Education at the Royal Drawing School, explained that he produced a mixture of sketches, digital drawings and paintings from location, which he then developed into larger works in the studio.

He spent almost a year completing the collection of "upwards of 30 images", comprising large drawings, five or six small paintings and one statement piece of the moment the crowds came from the Mall to stand outside Buckingham Palace for the iconic Balcony moment.

The artist showed the King the finished products last year, and the monarch was understood to be so impressed with his ability to quickly capture the fast-moving events of the Coronation that he was invited to join him and the Queen in Italy.

An accomplished painter himself, Charles started the tradition of personally paying for an artist to join him on tours in 1985, as a way of supporting the arts and documenting the magical moments of his foreign trips from a different perspective.

Forty-two artists have undertaken this role, who collectively have visited 95 countries during 69 tours. But for this trip, it was Scarfe who quietly stood observing the royal couple during their fast-moving programme.

The King didn't give him a brief, and instead suggested he worked "in whatever way I see fit", capturing whatever struck him artistically.

Scarfe rotated between using a traditional sketchbook with his iPad mini - using both his fingers and a stylus on the screen.

Using an app called Procreate, he can utilise a wide range of brushes and a full colour wheel - and it's this that is the most useful tool as he can produce colour sketches quickly on location.

"When you're presented with so much exciting stimulus, you want to work quickly and make sure that you get down as much as possible which then serves as a reminder when you get back to the studio and start to develop them," he said.

On the plane journey home, Scarfe showed the king a selection of the 15 digital works he produced during the trip, alongside a handful of paintings and drawings in his sketchbook.

"He's very interested in the technology [of digital art] as well as the traditional forms of painting," the artist said.

It's a full-circle moment for Scarfe, who secured a place on The Drawing Year, a full scholarship postgraduate-level course in 2012 at The Royal Drawing School - which was co-founded by the King in 2000.

"It's a real pinch me moment because you never in your wildest dreams imagine that you might end up doing something like this," he said.

He has set aside the next couple of months to complete the collection, which he'll then present to the King.