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Ten years ago, artist Grahame Hurd-Wood embarked on an ambitious project to paint a portrait of each resident in the city of St Davids, his home in Pembrokeshire, UK. With a population of about 1,800, it was a daunting task, but Grahame was determined to see it through. Now, ten years later, he has completed over 1,000 portraits and the project, known as the City of Portraits, continues to grow as his ambition expands. The project took on a personal significance when a close friend and fellow artist who had cancer asked Grahame to paint her portrait. Sadly, she passed away before he could complete it, turning it into a posthumous tribute. Her request became Grahame's inspiration to continue with the portraits. Originally, Grahame thought it would take him five to ten years to finish the project, but now he believes it will be ongoing. Despite being a labor of love, the City of Portraits is a side project to Grahame's main work, focusing on painting landscapes and seascapes in the area. Nevertheless, he finds each portrait to be intensely meaningful, capturing the essence and unique story of every subject. Grahame finds his subjects in various ways, from word of mouth to approaching people on the street. The project initially focused solely on St Davids, but Grahame has expanded it to include the surrounding areas, integrating with the wider community. With around 1,000 completed portraits, Grahame is now in discussions with St Davids Cathedral to host an exhibition of the work in the near future. There is even talk of projecting the portraits onto the cathedral tower. Grahame's oldest subject, now 100, was in her 90s when painted. Through this project, Grahame has become even more connected to his adopted home. Each portrait has made him feel like a part of the community, and he is proud to have undertaken this endeavor. While the project will likely never be completed, Grahame has no plans to retire from it. It is a passion that he hopes will always be with him.