They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in the case of a new portrait of Mayor Rob Ford the artist can sum it all up in four.

“Certain words come to mind. Colourful, vibrant, complicated, intense,” Coun. Gary Crawford said of the painting prior to unveiling it at city hall Thursday morning. “These are the things I was looking for as I painted the portrait. I was really trying to create the essence of the man and who the man represents.”

The portrait, which was completed by Crawford over the course of 150 hours this past summer, depicts a smiling Ford dressed in a blue blazer and standing against a bright, colourful background.

Speaking with CP24 Thursday, Crawford said the idea of painting Ford began three years ago when Ford’s mother Diane learned that he was an artist and sold him on the project, but only recently came to fruition.

“Diane had asked me to do the paining three years ago, but because of the demands of the job one summer went by, then another and finally this summer I said ‘I really have to do this’ and I went into my studio every morning from about 7 a.m. until noon working with all kinds of pictures and I created the portrait,” Crawford said. “It was a journey and it was a lot of fun.”

Crawford painted the portrait of Ford on a pro-bono basis and used Twitter to provide his followers with a step-by-step look at the process throughout the summer.

Ford’s mother then got her first look at the finished product a few days ago.

“I couldn’t believe it because I didn’t have any preconceived idea of what it would look like or what it should look like,” Diane Ford said. “He (Crawford) has just captured the essence of Rob and I look at it and I can see 10 different personalities all representing Rob.”

The portrait will hang above a mantle in the Ford family living room, according to Diane.

Asked if a similar portrait of Ford’s older brother Doug will soon join it, Diane joked that it will depend on him.

“When Doug becomes premier we’ll consider it,” Diane Ford joked.

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