While They’re Still Small

Commissioning a Watercolour Painting of Your Children

Children change remarkably quickly.

A favourite jumper disappears, they grow out of their wellies, a much-loved toy is suddenly forgotten, and even the way they stand or hold hands with a brother or sister changes.

Quite often, it is those ordinary details that you most want to hold onto.

That is what I try to capture in a painting.

More than a portrait

These are not formal portraits of children sitting perfectly still. They are paintings that capture a moment, a memory.

Most of my favourite commissions have a sense of movement, place and story. Children on a beach, walking with the dog, riding a pony or simply being themselves.

Very often it starts with a photograph that someone already loves.

"Philip has a wonderful gift to produce magical family memories with his powerfully simple watercolours. In particular he totally captures the essence of children."

Julie W

Working from photographs

You do not need to have the perfect photograph before getting in touch.

Sometimes one photograph has the right pose, another the right expression and another gives me the setting. I can work from several images to bring the finished painting together.

We start with a conversation about what you would like to capture and why that particular moment matters.

"Philip painted a wonderful picture of my three boys on a beach. From a photo he really managed to capture the moment."

Hamish B

The little details

For me, a successful painting is not just about likeness.

It might be the way a child stands, a favourite coat, windswept hair, a much-loved toy or the dog that is never very far away.

Those details are part of the memory.

"It makes my heart sing every time I look at it."

Kitty

Something to keep

A painting of your children means one thing when it is first commissioned and something rather different ten or twenty years later.

By then, it has become a reminder of a particular age, place and moment in family life.

"He captured her absolutely perfectly."

Charlie P

If there is a photograph or moment involving your children that you would love to turn into a painting, please get in touch. You do not need to have the whole idea worked out. Send me a few photographs and we can take it from there.