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Holloway teenager Adam Scott-Miller has been modelling for his mother since he was five days old.

Over the years his mother, painter Melissa Scott-Miller, has asked the 16-year-old to pose for her, and her son has gladly obliged.

Her most recent painting of him, Gooner, which depicts Arsenal fan Adam in the club shirt, is among the famous faces featured in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in Westminster, which opened to the public yesterday (Thursday).

It shows the City and Islington College student sitting in his mother’s home studio with family dog Joey lurking under the table and some of her canvasses stacked behind him.

Adam is a regular at Arsenal matches, home and away, with his half-brother Barry, 39, but he admits this season has been “terrible”. “I love [Arsenal manager] Arsène Wenger but it’s probably time for him to go,” he says.

The City and Islington College AS-level student enjoys posing for his mother.

“Sometimes she’ll say: ‘I want to do a painting of you.’ I don’t really mind, and I can just sit there and talk to her while she’s doing her painting and catch up with her,” he said. “This one was done in November. Mum said she wanted to paint me in my Arsenal kit.”

According to the artist, the painting tries to express the good relationship she has with her son, and his “open and lovely” character.

Adam added: “We’re not just son and mum, we’re good mates. It has not always been the case but during the last three years we’ve become good friends.”

More than 200 portraits by over 100 artists are on show at the Mall Galleries until May 20.

They include four works by Ms Scott-Miller, who is honorary secretary of the Royal Society.

The painting depicting her son, who attended Holloway School before moving to college, was used in the galleries’ publicity promoting the exhibition.

Adam, who is not thinking of becoming an artist himself, visited the exhibition on Wednesday.

Asked what it was like to see a portrait of himself on show, he said: “It used to be really weird. Just that there’s people looking at the painting of you and you’re standing right next to it. Now I’m kind of used to it. People did come up to me and said they recognised me in the painting.”

His mother added: “I’d like to think the painting represents my relationship with him, which is a very good one. Of course, I’m biased, but it shows he’s very honest. He’s very open, easy to get on with.

“He’s a lovely person and very straightforward and I think that kind of shows in the painting.”

Among the famous faces in this year’s exhibition are the Princess Royal, Lords Falconer, Hattersley, Joffe and Bragg, photographer Don McCullin, author Sir Max Hastings, actor Sir Tom Courtenay and cricketers Claire Taylor and Andrew Strauss.