My goal with portraiture is to portray the person, to ‘see them’ in the final image; I don’t want the final image to be empty and lifeless. We all have our own stories. Everyone of us are unique and valuable. When contemplating a portrait I like to consider a persons’ defining qualities, ie their character, their distinctive features, their loves and maybe even a treasured moment/life activity.

Recently I was made aware, with the help of my children, that I hadn’t painted an updated portrait of my son. The last painting I have of him was when he was a little toddler. For those who don’t know him, that was some years ago. As I thought about my son I pondered what image would best represent him now; like a 2021 time capsule of him. I didn’t want just a head and shoulders portrait as I didn’t feel that best represented Ewan; a very active, outdoorsy teenager. One of the sporting activities he loves to do is Whitewater Kayaking, so it was a natural progression for me to choose an image of him doing something he loves, in a place he loves.