Catherine Cox

In this project I was trying to capture my children, at various stages in their teenage and young adult years, in small portraits. I have tried to portray some of the range of their possible expressions honestly. I depicted them in a realistic but classical style looking back at pictures by Hans Holbein for inspiration. I use oil pastels directly onto the canvas and blend them using blending sticks.

I feel that oil pastels are a good medium for capturing youthful energy and lack of inhibition inherent at this stage in life. They retain such vibrancy on the canvas. I really enjoyed the challenge and the process of making these portraits. While I was clearly an active participant in creating them, at different stage it felt as though I was an observer watching the people I know and love, in all their defiance, take shape and emerge from the canvas.