2022 was a great year from Kate Bradley Fine Art! I traveled to several great cities to take photos of children for portraits. From Nashville to Baltimore to Charlottesville and my hometown of Memphis, 2022 was full of wonderful opportunities. Here are a few portraits I did this year.
Travis, Age 5, Oil on canvas Nashville, TN
Margaux, Age 7 Oil on canvas, Nashville TN
Alden, Age 4 Oil on canvas Charlottesville VA
Michah, Age 4, Oil on canvas, Dallas TX
Will, Age 4, Charcoal, Memphis, TN
Moxie, Oil on canvas, 16 x 20, Lynchburg VA
When I spoke to Moxie’s mom Liz or the first time, I understood how much she loves her son. He had some health ordeals that no child should have to endure, yet he had and had come out on the other side as a strong little boy appropriately named.
Although he was only 3 1/2 at the time, Moxie had epilepsy and already had to undergo brain surgery. I can’t imagine what Liz and her husband had to go through, but I know that she wanted to capture his personality and honor him in a portrait that expressed her love for Moxie. Liz was confident her son would be OK, and his “moxie” would pull him through.
With each portrait I paint, I try to capture the child’s personality and honor his or her young life. Childhood is such a special, fleeting time. It’s hard to capture and hang on to that, but hopefully a portrait helps alleviate some of that pain. Children grow up quickly. We blink and it’s over.
That’s why it’s so important to capture them at this age. For Liz, simply a photograph wouldn’t be enough. A portrait, created through the eyes of art artist who’d met her son, was just the thing to honor him and his life.
I love this work, capturing a child’s personality and helping kids feel loved and valued for who they are. Moxie’s already an exceptional child because of what he’s been through. He still approaches life with the joy and wonder of childhood, and loves to have fun with his brother. With two loving parents to be there to catch him when he falls.
xoxo,
Kate
Ezra, Age 3 Oil on canvas, Memphis, TN
All moms understand how fleeting childhood is. As a first time mom to an 18-month old, I have to continually remind myself to cherish this time. It can be hard, but it’s also so full of joy and amazement. Caring for this precious bundle of joy has made me so grateful to be a mom. When I think of him I’m just filled with love and awe. I’m already missing him at this age and he’s not even two!
So I know how moms feel watching their little ones grow and change so fast. The time between 2 and 5 years of age is the most precious because it’s so fleeting.
It makes me want to hold onto it and capture it so much. That’s why I’m so glad to be able to do these portraits for myself and for my clients. To help them capture what is truly a precious time. Your kids are only young once, and then they become little adults. It happens so fast these days!
Don’t let it slip away. Preserve this time in a special way.
One of the things I’ve learned from being a mom is how fleeting the time is in a child’s life. Already my son is a walking, babbling toddler and I’m struck by how quickly it all happened. He’s so young, innocent, and everything is new.
He’s un-corrupted and un-jaded.
That’s one of the reasons I love painting children. They’re totally open, approachable, and completely lacking in self awareness. That’s what makes them such a delight to be around, and so special because childhood is fleeting.
Ben, Age 4, Oil on canvas
Lynchburg VA
I recently completed these two commissions. Two boys, both different, but both in possession of that beautiful innocence of childhood. These parents asked me to paint their kids because parents instinctively know that their babies won’t be babies much longer.
Will Dorman, Age 4, Charcoal
Memphis, TN
The truth is the days are long but the years are short. Kids just grow up so quickly. That’s what it means so much to my collectors to have this precious time captured, in a way that is truly meaningful and goes beyond a photo.
Because it’s our kids who mean the most to us, and who' well always want to be around.
xoxo,
Kate
Anne, Age 6, Oil on canvas, Memphis TN
One of the reasons I love doing portraits of children is helping moms celebrate their love for their little ones. Nothing says you are loved and valued quite like a portrait.
One family I’ve had the pleasure of working with are the Friarys in Memphis, TN. Several years ago I painted their oldest son Henry, and this past December it was time for their daughters, Anne and Julia, to have their portraits painted. So I hopped on a flight to my old hometown to take their pictures and to get to know the girls. They were both so sweet and charming. Anne and her younger sister Julia loved having their photos taken and were eagerly anticipating their own portraits next to their brother’s.
I love visiting clients after time has passed to see how their families have grown and changed. Henry had transformed from a little boy to a young man in such a short time.
Julia, Age 4, Oil on canvas, Memphis TN
As moms know, these early years are so fleeting. I’m often asked the best age to do a portrait, and I answer that the 2-4 time range seems to be that sweet spot.
I love capturing their little personalities and helping them feel loved and valued for who they are.
These moms will treasure their portraits for years to come, as they watch their kids grow up and become the people they’re raised to be. I hope their portraits are a reminder of how loved and valued they are.
