The Art of Smiling
/Today I am exploring a new theme I’m calling First steps Friday, creating portraits of little ones.
Most fitting that I should start with Artie’s portrait, my cousin Hannah’s beautiful boy who recently made his entrance into the world. This portrait shows him at 8 weeks old, discovering his first smiles. Hannah explained the power of this moment:
These first smiles were some of his widest! And felt so joyous. They also come at just the right time - when you’re feeling so tired and questioning what you’re doing all the time...the smiles show that you are in fact doing something right!
I kept my approach quite loose on this, it was an action shot after all. And I can hand on heart say it certainly does the spirit good to spend a few hours meditating on a smile, especially one so vibrant and fresh as Artie’s!
Watch the timelapse below to see how this painting evolved. Funnily enough the first track title that accompanies this video is called ‘Mr Sunny Face’ which I think characterises Artie perfectly!
Wishing everyone a very bright, sunny and of course smiley rest of day!
