As Heather Mills prepares to face her estranged husband Paul McCartney in the divorce courts, she has been keeping up her spirits with a flurry of activity. In addition to her regular cycling workouts along the promenade near her Hove home, the 38-year old former model has also recently appeared on an American TV show and found time to pose for a charity portrait.
While she described the work as "a masterpiece", Heather isn't totally convinced the picture has captured her spirit, though. "I just don't think I look very kind," she rued, adding: "As the press portray me as hard and cold, I'm not keen on the sternness of it."
The artist behind the oil painting, Sarah MacDonald, remains proud of the work, however. "It was the longest I had ever spent on a painting and I was really proud of it," she explains. "As it was for charity I wanted to make Heather look determined and ready to spring into action, as though she was ready to take on the world.
"I thought she would like the idea that she looked up for any challenge. Unfortunately, she did not seem as keen on the finished painting as I was."
Meanwhile, although Heather has clearly relished the exercise opportunities offered by the Brighton seafront in recent weeks, she is reportedly selling her seafront home in Hove, as well as her luxury Sussex barn conversion, with view to buying a £1 million property in Normandy. Newspapers quoted a friend as saying, "Heather made it clear she was looking for somewhere to escape. She wants a place away from the pressure."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
