DESIGN BLOG
Thoughts
&
Musings
A Portrait of Joshua
"Joshua" (detail) by Nathalie Tierce
"Joshua" by Nathalie Tierce
It's always that way, when you do something for a living (even if you love doing it) you tend to not do it for yourself.
Suddenly enough time had gone by to make me realize it had been years since I did a portrait study of my own son, Joshua, 7.
When I asked him to pose for this, I didn't ask him to pose, because in general I find that makes people, kids and grown ups alike, freeze. So instead I talked to him about what I needed his picture for, how I would use it for reference for my painting.
I finally got a photo that I liked with an attitude and gesture that conveyed his character.
Although I liked the slightly James Dean stance he struck, once I began working on the composition, the length of his exposed sock was distracting so I changed it.
I've made a short video where you can see the progression from sketch to drawing to finished painting.
I'm so glad I did it, I see his humor and shyness mixed with humor come through.
Framed Bark
"Bark Painting #5" by Nathalie Tierce
I just finished hanging on of my prints from the "Bark Paintings" series in my client's home.
Framed, it looks wonderful in this contemporary bedroom. They already had the woven red bedspread with embroidery as well as the some of the other pillows. I found the purple and silver / navy pillows to throw into the mix because it need a little bit a cool rich color to counter the warm bedspread.
The walls are Benjamin Moore's Simply White.