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Jacqui was the winning bidder on my Leigh Art Trail Secret auction commission and she was keen to have a portrait which evoked the work she had viewed in the trail. When discussing the brief for the piece I was very excited that Jacqui was keen to have a figurative image which expressed her as a mother. This was a huge decision for her to make; as I am sure is the same for most of us, to put ourselves in such a vulnerable situation with our body on display is a very frightening prospect. We often talk about the force fed images of perfection in the media but there are certain inevitabilities of pregnancy and childbirth which are a part of our physical history and should be celebrated. As a mother of three boys, the youngest being 18 months old, Jacqui looks incredible. She wanted to celebrate the fact that her body has facilitated her beautiful family which I find both heartening and empowering. We discussed how we could capture this in a way that Jacqui felt comfortable and which was not graphic. Just a simple, beautiful image which could be combined with some of her favourite flowers. In a short and private session we were able to achieve exactly this I am so very pleased that Jacqui feels happy for me to share one of these images. 'After chatting with Nicola, it soon became clear that I wanted something that celebrated my body and the changes to it since becoming a mum...
I loved the idea of it but when it came to the 'sitting' I was a little bit terrified... However, Nicola was very patient and kind; she listened to me, reassured me and gave me time... she [then] guided me gently into poses I felt comfortable with... I am so pleased with the final images that she has created. I feel like she listened and understood what it was that I wanted and created pictures that expressed it beautifully.' Jacqui.
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My initial workings for her portrait were based on research about her name and on the basic things she had told me about herself via our correspondence. I was able to listen to the music she produces before we met which I felt was a great insight into her artistic soul. When I met Raven, she had great depth of character and it was a pleasure learning about her life, her passions and her values. Whilst we chatted I took some natural photographs and set up a few poses. I then took some long exposure shots to capture some movement and texture. The session was relaxed, fun and very informal - a real pleasure. I then set about choosing images and piecing them together to form a representation of Raven as I had interpreted her. I created quite a few drafts over a week and then left these for a few days. On returning to work on them, I scrutinised each draft and gathered my favourite elements together to create the final image... |
CapturingEvie
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