This is a portrait of my niece with her son. In the background there are images of various relatives who I have painted over the years, some of whom have passed away.
Amy is looking thoughtfully off into the distance with a slight smile on her face, while Ollie reaches out to the viewer, making full eye contact. Ollie is completely in the present moment, but although Amy is cuddling her son, she is reminiscing. Her father never got to see his grandson, but his face is featured in the background of the portrait and he is always in her thoughts.
It was my intention to make the background look like an old family album, with torn fading photos, which accentuates the solidity and modernity of mother and baby. Although she remembers the past with fondness, she is Moving On.
Gail Cuthbert - Artist 