Celebrating Mothers

By Kate Bradley 28 March 2014, 1:10 PM The relationship a mom has with her child is special. The Bible says that we were knit together in our mothers wombs, so mothers are our first connection to the world. It's a blessing to be a mom!

I hear people say that you don’t’ realize your capacity to love until you have a child. I believe that’s true. I see it in the faces of the moms I work with. When a portrait brings tears to their eyes, I feel how much they love their children. I hope to have kids of my own one day so I can experience that love.

My client and friend Micki came to my studio yesterday to see the finished portrait of her son Henry. She gasped when she saw it. She said what a little rascal he is. Later, she told me she and her husband were thrilled that I was able to once again capture the magic of their children!

I just love that. There is a magic in childhood.

My portraits are symbols of that motherly love. All the time, energy and sacrifice it takes to raise kids. You really do give your lives to them.

Growing up, my mom worked so we could have a good life. There were probably some dreams she sacrificed so she could take care of me and my sister. She made sure I had all my school supplies, took care of me when I was sick, and put me in art class. She's also my favorite shopping buddy. I know I can always trust and rely on her. She will always speak truth to me (sometimes annoyingly so.) But I know she's right. And that she has my best interest at heart.

As Mother's Day approaches, I feel especially blessed to celebrate the awesome, beautiful role of motherhood. The moms I paint for care so, so much about their children. What an honor to spotlight that relationship in my work.

Chasing Henry

 

I’m working on a portrait of Henry Martin this week. Last year I painted his older sister Francis, and what a different experience this commission has been! When I was taking the pictures, Francis was calm and serene, and did exactly what she was told. She held her little flower, and I was done taking the pictures in no time.

Henry, well, he does the opposite. I say that jokingly- he’s adorable and I just want to hug him. He calls himself “Hen” and me “Kay-kay,” and gave me a big slobbery kiss when I left. How could you not love that?

So I’m chasing him all over the house trying to get a picture of him. Everything is a blur because he is streaking past me.

His mom, Micki, and I try everything we can to get him to be still. We bribe him with candy. We put on his favorite movie, The Aristocats (he loves cats), but nothing is working. I mean, he’s only two, so it’s not like he’s going to stand perfectly still. Which is fine. I often work from several photos.

Micki originally wanted to have Henry holding a porcelain rabbit, the same one his dad was holding in his portrait as a child. We tried that, but in the end it just didn’t work. Henry is a lively, rambunctious, rascal and it didn’t fit his personality to have him placidly holding a heirloom.

So after taking LOTS of pictures, most of them unusable, I manage to get two or three that I could work from to make a beautiful portrait. And this one is going to be beautiful.

This is the study I did for Henry's portrait. I chose this pose and background because it expresses Hen’s personality. He looks so natural and relaxed. The elements of the background work to make him the focus. This is important, because you don’t want anything to distract from him. The red is so striking. It brings out his rosy cheeks and compliments the blue of his shorts beautifully. The lighting makes his skin glow and his dark hair shine. And I just adore his little socks and shoes.

For some reason, Henry's portrait reminds me of John Singer Sargent's work, this one in particular. It's very loose, except for the girl. This helps position her as the focus. It has such life and personality. You can imagine this is exactly how she is.

Portrait of Jennings

I loved Jennings from the moment I met her. She is just so warm and engaging. Throughout the portrait process, I have enjoyed getting to spend time with her and discovering her personality. When I came to her house for the first time, she invited me back to her room and showed me all her toys.Her older sister Hayden is also wonderful. Seriously, she is like a little adult. I want to be both of their friends.

This month I had Jennings, Hayden, and their friend Louise over to my studio for a play-date art lesson. We did self-portraits.

This is the proposal for the portrait of Jennings, which I will complete next month.

Proposals are small versions of the portrait. I don't develop the face or any of the details. They are just done to give the parents an idea for the composition, pose and colors- the big picture stuff. In conjunction with the painted proposal I show them the photos I want to work from.

When I'm creating a proposal, I take into account all the parents' preferences for the facial expression, setting, and pose. For instance, my client Jenna showed me some pictures she liked of Jennings when she was younger. And Jennings' hair is blonder in the summer, so Jenna asked if I could paint it that way.

Although my portraits are interpretations of a child through my eyes, I want to make sure that I capture the way the parents see them as well. I know that I am painting their most prized possessions, so I do everything I can to ease their fears about how the portrait will turn out.

Love Has Many Faces

Jasmine all dressed up for the middle school valentine's day dance.

My heart is connected to Streets Ministries. I see the difference they are making in the lives of Jasmine and countless other kids who are born disadvantaged. Streets offers them hope, love, stability, and most importantly, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These kids come from a world that doesn't expect them to amount to much. Streets empowers and encourages them, helping them break the cycle of poverty and really make something of themselves.

Streets has touched my life. They have opened my eyes to the reality that every advantage I have been given is by the grace of God. I did not earn it or deserve it. And I believe that God blesses us to be a blessing to others. So recently I have felt led to do something to further the work of Streets. You see, my mission is to help people honor and celebrate their family relationships through my artistic talent. Well, not everyone has stable family relationships. Not every child is blessed like the kids I paint.

A couple of months ago I had Jasmine and her friends over at my place after church. I did little sketches of them to take home, and as I was doing them I was struck with a thought: these kids will likely never have their portraits painted. They won’t ever get to experience the feeling of knowing that someone loves you so much they'll commission art in your honor. Not many South Memphis kids are the subjects of portraits. But I believe they are  are uniquely and divinely created. Their lives matter, just as much as the lives of the kids I am commissioned to paint.

So this year I am beginning a new project. Through a series of portraits, I am going to spotlight the kids at Streets and tell their unique stories. My hope is to inspire and encourage them- to let them know they are worthy subjects of art. I want to bless their parents by giving them portraits they might not otherwise be able to afford, because they love their kids just as much as the rest of us do. And most of all, I want to encourage others like me to give out of the abundance we have been given and to be thankful for the warm meals, family dinners, toys, vacations and safe schools we are blessed to enjoy.

Around the table

Childhood is precious. You don’t get it back. The way we were brought up determines so much of who we become.

Growing up my family and I always ate dinner at the table. As we ate the meal my parents had made for us (mostly pot roast), we would talk about our day. Sometimes my dad would read to us a passage from Scripture or a chapter from one the books we were reading as a family. Sometimes I would hide broccoli in my napkin. Both of my parents worked, yet they still found time to sit down with me at the table. We weren’t rich, and no amount of money could make up for that time together.

Family dinners were one of the ways my parents loved and invested in my sister and I. We each had our own place at the table and I felt like my opinion mattered. It’s about enjoying the simple things in life: love and connectedness around the table. We got fed- both physically and spiritually.

Today, as we juggle busy schedules and distractions, family mealtime almost seems archaic. So very Leave-It-To-Beaver. We trade personal, physical connection for social media and t.v. time. In America we are conditioned to be productive and efficient, and the family dinner calls us to slow down. We don’t like that. And out of all the cultures, Americans seem to appreciate family dinners the least. Yet studies show that kids who eat dinner with their families are less likely to get depressed, drop out of school, and get into drugs, sex and alcohol. Because home-cooked meals are usually healthy, they are also less likely to develop obesity.

What an amazing difference a small thing can make! Perhaps most of the problems in our culture can be attributed to misplaced priorities.

I hope to one day have my own family.  I pray I will make my family a priority and not let a hectic schedule, job, or cell phone get in the way of sitting down to eat with my kids.