By Kate Bradley 3 January 2014, 8:45 AM Yesterday I had TRIPLETS Cannon, Tanner and Walter to my studio to sit for me for three full-length oil portraits I'm working on. I like to start each commission this way, spending some one-on-one time with each boy to study them and ask questions. It's like a "mini-interview." My goal is to get to know my subjects on a personal level so I can create a portrait that speaks to the individuality of each child. Then I can start to generate ideas for the different elements of the piece. I also love the idea of not only capturing the boys' likeness at five years of age, but also the things they were interested in at the time.
As I'm sketching I like to make notes, often focusing on one or two features that stand out and try to quickly capture those. ("quickly" being the operative word as little boys have nano-second attention spans)
All three boys love playing sports with their dad and to swim. They're "water babies," as mom Deede puts it. They each have blond hair and blue eyes, with similar but distinct features.
My impression of Cannon was that he was funny, but with a serious side. He volunteered to go first for the sitting. Walter is contemplative and serious, clearly the leader of the group. And Tanner just made me smile. He was very sweet and talkative.
Louise decided it was her turn.
