Leonard Rosoman's portraits were special in that his sitters were placed in their natural surroundings, providing scope for Leonard's quirky eye for the unusual. At the cheerful Christmas parties thrown by his wife, Roxanne, guests would introduce themselves as the couple with the large white dog on the floor, or the man throwing paper around the room (myself, as painted by Leonard in Nairobi in 1982).
Each portrait generated elegant drawings in pen and wash – not just preliminary sketches, but records of Leonard's experience of a different place or a new country; on one occasion, including a fine series on ostriches and other African wildlife. He had a special capacity to enjoy life, marked by a sudden giggle at something unusual which appealed to his quirky sense of humour. One memory is Leonard's joy on the deck of a Thames barge, in pouring rain, motoring under Tower Bridge as it opened. He exclaimed it was the most exciting thing he had done since riding into liberated Paris on the back of a motorbike.