“THE LIVING PORTRAIT”
Ten years together, two children, one marriage. The commission: a portrait of everything that made them.
The result is a living portrait in the tradition of the moving paintings from Harry Potter's Hufflepuff house, her favourite. The frame is green marble, his favourite. Inside it: ten elements, each carrying a specific weight from their shared life.
The grass references Hufflepuff's interior. The iris is her signature scent. The heart stands for the unshakable bond between them, their children, their friends and family. The dinner table is the centrepiece of their home, the place where the family gathers and festive nights with friends unfold. The cabbage stands for femininity and birth. The car is for the road trips. The tree is for nature, birding, hiking. A second heart for the wider family of relatives and friends that lights up their life. The house for their core: one happy family.
And the bird. She is a birdwatcher, so the bird is the one element that moves. It can be placed anywhere in the portrait, because that is what birds do.
Marble frame, found and repurposed materials. 40 x 80 cm.
Green marble frame.
Dirk expressed how he loved the green marble he saw in a previous work of mine. So I made their family portrait in a custom marble frame.
Custom colour pallete.
For this Ode I created a custom colour palette around Jasmijn’s favourite colour ‘old pink’.
Review by client Dirk.
‘TEN YEARS OF GOING STEADY AND THEN I POPPED THE QUESTION. TO CELEBRATE THIS SPECIAL MOMENT I INVITED JOANNA TO CAPTURE THIS SPECIAL MOMENT IN OUR LIVES.
SO INCREDIBLY SPECIAL TO EXPERIENCE THIS PROCESS WITH JOANNA. SHE READS PEOPLE VERY WELL, AND WE COULDN’T BE HAPPIER WITH THE RESULT. ’