Anita Lester, the courtroom artist whose sketches of Erin Patterson went viral, has described the emotional toll of capturing the accused triple murderer. Lester's dark, moody portrait of Patterson, depicting her as 'consistently sad', was used by news outlets worldwide.
Lester, a Melbourne-based freelance artist, has covered about 30 trials, including high-profile cases such as Malka Leifer and Tony Mokbel. She works with an iPad due to cramped courtroom conditions, and her style is reminiscent of John Brack or Edvard Munch's The Scream.
In Australian courts, cameras are banned, so artists provide the only visual record of the accused. Lester must work quickly, often with only minutes to sketch, then finish outside to meet deadlines. She accidentally filed a version with a tiny mushroom in the corner, which was retracted, requiring her to rebuild trust with employers.
The job takes an emotional toll; Lester nearly fainted after one hearing due to overwhelming information. She often sits in direct line of sight of the accused, who sometimes stare back. 'Afterwards the journalists in the room were like, are you OK?' she recalled. 'The truth is, I wasn't.'
