I have two daughters – Liv, 27 at the time of writing, and Georgia, 23. I have painted and drawn them both at 4, 11, and then my plan was to paint them again at 18 before leaving for university. What with a slightly overwhelming load of other commissions, getting remarried, moving house, building a new studio, the years slowly slipped by without being able to pin down the golden age of my fully fledged adult child. Somehow once they have left home, the occasions when they have enough time to sit (and enjoy it) are few and far between.
Liv at 4, just before starting school. Oil on board. This was the portrait that triggered an avalanche of demand for children’s portraits that has kept me busy for two decades.
A pastel head and shoulders portrait of Liv at 11, just before starting secondary school. Here you can start to see the young woman she will become.
Liv
Just before her 25th birthday, my first-born took the very plucky decision to leave her job with Redbull in Southampton and go travelling for a few months – a dream that had gone on the back-burner since Covid. On her return from her travels, she came home for a couple of months before heading up to London to pick up her career. Aha! Perfect opportunity to paint her! Tanned, vibrant, full of energy, youth, confidence – a truly golden age. And she had plenty of quality time to indulge her demanding mother.
I always ask for a handful of adjectives to describe my sitter from their family members as this helps me get an insight into the person sitting for me. My adjectives for Liv are: strong, sunny, positive, articulate, intelligent both in the normal sense and emotionally, and really quite stubborn. This is topped off with a dazzling smile that makes Julia Robert’s look like an usherette’s dimly powered torch.
The Sitting/s
Despite my light-filled cathedral of a studio, the quality of the light is actually incredibly flat which is perfect from a working perspective, but not so good for sitting purposes. So I have invested in some quite exciting new LED lighting so that I have far better control the lighting of my sitter, temperature, direction, strength – the sky’s the limit .
Liv was my guinea pig for this new lighting setup so it took quite a long time to familiarise myself with my new toys, and also get the look that I was after. We tried various outfits, makeup, no makeup, different background colours, different lighting setups, travelling vibe, every-day girl at home, the professional. Multiple sittings later, we found the look which hit the bullseye.
The Portrait
I had been wanting to do this portrait for so long that I was really overexcited about finally being able to do it. I had high hopes for it. I wasn’t sure what it was that I wanted from it. I just hoped that I would recognise the moment when I got it.
Starting Again
As it turned out, I stopped after I realised that in the search for the unknown ‘x’ factor, and the essence of Liv, I had lost the energy and vibrance and edge that I needed. It had got slightly over-finished. And it didn’t sing out. It wasn’t quite right. But, since I had that version to fall back on, I had absolutely nothing to lose. So I started again. I could be more adventurous. Instead of refining and refining, I tried to capture her warmth, strength and directness with the paint. And eventually she came to me.
And here she is. Liv at 25.
She stares out at the viewer with the smallest hint of a smile on her lips. Multiple earrings adorn her ear, and she is wearing a necklace of mine, and an olive green linen shirt that sets off her colouring beautifully and somehow hits the relaxed but semi-formal nature of the portrait.
The Frame
I wanted a frame that sat quietly at the edge of the painting and drew the eye in. The shape of the moulding is very swoopy. The main colour is Light Bronze Green, over a base coat of Invisible Green, both colours by Little Green. The Light Bronze Green picks up the browns in her hair and has enough warmth in it to tie to the warmth of the flesh. The Invisible Green peeps through at a couple of the raised edges of the frame.
Now, I need to start thinking about the painting of my younger daughter, George….
The Creative Process
Here you can see a few steps from the evolution of Liv’s portrait.
Further Information
If you like what you see here and would like to see more examples of my portraits please click here for portraits of women and here for portraits of children.
If you are interested in commissioning a portrait, you can read about the process or you can contact me directly here.