Lady and her Eagle was commissioned by a beautiful family. It shows them walking through a seaside garden, surrounded by pink flying turtles and kookaburras.
Whenever I paint for families, I always spend some time getting to know them first. I’ll ask them for photos or information on what’s important to them.
After that, I’ll work on a rough sketch, exploring my own interpretation and trying to capture the essence of who they are. Once the sketch is complete, I’ll send it to the family along with my line of thinking and a story of how I’ve portrayed their family.
Almost all of my paintings have started with very strong mental images. I’ll imagine a clear picture, but will sometimes still decide on details such as colours while I paint. With this painting, I had a clear vision and knew the colours had to be rich and deep, symbolising the levels of emotions this family had for one another.
Once the sketch is complete, all that’s left to do is paint! Lady and her Eagle shows a mother and her children, walking to greet their father as he returns home from time away.
The mother is wearing deep night-sky purple because she is this family’s universe. She’s the glue, the one everyone connects with. Flowers grow in her hair and float to the ground, leaving her mark on the world as she walks through life as a woman, mother and wife.
The little girl has flowers on her dress. As she gets older, she will grow flowers in her hair, just like her mother. She’ll eventually walk her own path and leave her trail of blossoms. She holds a butterfly and when the time is right, her wings will transform into many colours.
The little boy is holding a frog, symbolising his connection with nature and staying grounded. He’s also growing wings, like his sister. Both parents have given these children different perspectives in life. There are times when you should fly with the wings you’re given, and there are times when you’ll need to stay grounded.
I painted the father as an eagle because he’s soaring in to connect with his family, the people he loves and adores. Though he has to leave for work, he’s always greeted home with open arms from his family.
The turtles are there to remind this family to be grateful for what they have, to listen to each other, and find comfort in knowing there is always love, even when they are not physically together. The kookaburras represent their strength as a family unit.
