Mother and Child

The mother and child image is one that is very pronounced across most forms of art and portraiture. From the famous Madonna Litta painted by Leonardo de Vinci in 1450, to the 1880s interpretation of motherhood by Vincent van Gogh in Mother Roulin with her Baby, to the Impressionist representations of Edmund Tarbell’s Mother and Child and, to the highly contemporary reflection of mothering by Keith Haring’s 1986 Mother Holding Baby, the concept of motherhood seems to resonate a competitive streak in the artist keen to portray the highly emotional, complex, devoted and intense relationship between a mother and her child. It was certainly a challenge to produce this image and I still think I have a while to go before I can translate that emotional bond onto canvas. Perhaps this is something that will come more naturally once I’ve had a child of my own - that’s if I still have the time to draw!  

A clean sheet of paper

For many years I had a passion to work in the advertising industry. It was a place which indulged creativity and lateral expression on so many levels that it often became overwhelming. A copywriter who was well known for his contributions to a string of successful pasta commercials, shared with me that all creativity starts with nothing more than a clean sheet of paper and a sharp pencil. I didn't pursue a career in advertising, instead I left to educate disadvantaged youth about drugs and mental health. Minor side-step. However, to this day all of my creative endeavours have started with a clean sheet of paper and a nicely sharpened Derwent 2B.