At home with Laeticia
Art books, a green sofa, and a portrait of her mother—with the listening expression Laeticia knows best.
Laeticia’s dining table is a good place to open an art book. There is room to spread it out, leave a cup beside it, and look through the doorway into the sitting room. Beyond it are a green sofa, plants reaching toward the windows, and pictures she has collected over the years.
She chooses paintings because she likes living with them. Her mother’s portrait belongs to that collection, although choosing the photograph involved a little more family discussion than her other pictures.
Her mother preferred a photograph in which she was smiling at the camera. Laeticia liked one taken while she was listening to someone just outside the frame. It was the expression she recognized from their conversations: attentive, slightly turned away, with her mouth at rest.
There was no birthday or anniversary behind the idea. Laeticia wanted a portrait of her mother for her own apartment, and this was how she wanted to see her. They settled on the quieter photograph.
In the painting, her mother wears dark clothing and gold earrings. The grey in her hair and the lines around her eyes remain. Laeticia wanted the familiar face, without an extra smile supplied for the occasion.
The portrait hangs behind the sofa, visible from the dining table. Its warm frame sits comfortably among the books and plants, and Laeticia can glance up at it without leaving whatever she is reading.
When her mother visits, they sit and talk in the same room. She still has her own opinions about photographs. Laeticia has not stopped taking them.
Have someone in mind?
Start with the person or pet you would like painted, a few photographs, and a preferred size. The atelier will help you consider the composition.
Begin Your Portrait
