Elvis fan’s picture is in girlfriend’s US mansion
ALIFELONG Elvis fan is all shook up after her painting of the King ended up on the wall of his former girlfriend’s Malibu mansion.
Artist Sarah Crichton, 43, from Offerton, created a romantic picture the singer and his ex-partner Linda Thompson gazing at each other.
The painting, which has a verse from the song ‘I’ll Remember You’ inscribed at the bottom, is now hanging up in Linda’s house in California.
Sarah handed it over at an Elvis convention in Blackpool and then received a grateful phone call from former beauty queen Linda to say thanks.
She said: “I took it to the convention, I tried to give it to her after her speech and was really upset that I missed her as I thought there might be a book signing where I could hand it over.
“She was jet lagged though and had left quickly.
“But after a long chase I found her chauffeur and showed him. He went off with it and then came back to hand me a phone and Linda was on the other end.
“I’ve always admired her and she was very pleasant and thankful and I got quite starstruck. I’m absolutely blown away that it is now hung up at her home, I’ve been walking on air since.”
Sarah, who has two daughters, aged 20 and eight, and husband David Mallon, enjoyed art at school and has been painting seriously for 14 years.
Usually she paints wildlife but also creates the odd Elvis Presley picture as she has been a fan of his since she was a little girl.
Linda - who got together with Elvis after he split with Priscilla - is popular among his fans as she is credited with saving his life on several occasions.
The painting took around three months to complete and while the original is now in California, Sarah has kept several copies of it for herself.
She said: “I remember finishing it and being reasonably happy but there is always one or two things that you think if I could just have done that a little better.
“I have been a fan of his since I was three or fouryears-old. His voice used to make me cry, it can touch people and it still does today.
“He was very humble and would help people, Linda was only 21 when she met him and was a southern girl with the same values as Elvis.
“I’ve done a few Elvis pieces before and given them away to fans but never to someone quite so close to him.”