Another 2015 Redux: Twin 3 Year Portrait

2015 was certainly a year for revisiting the past. We’ve often thought of going back to some of the artists we used for Paley’s portrait for the twins. The twins first two portraits were two artists I really, really wanted to work with right away. When it came time to decide for the 3rd portrait, it was pretty evident that we should keep with tradition on one portrait that has been favorite for many over the years. Paley’s 3 Year portrait by Paola Zakimi, an Argentinian artist I found on etsy too many moons ago to admit. The piece was started digitally, printed and then embellished by hand. 

This whole process was a new can of worms this time around. We usually walk into the creative process with the artist with a clean slate. We try to have the artist keep with their own aesthetic but this time we returned to the artist with expectations. We initially asked that the she do the twins portraits in the same style as Paley’s 3rd, which can be found here. She stewed over the request and came back with another idea. She proposed to move away from the dark broody nature of Paley’s piece, into something new and more colorful. Our initial feeling was, “Well Okay”. Then we received the initial sketch and we were onboard with it. I’ve posted a few shots in this post of the pieces while they were being worked on. The only change that was made is the back ground for Margot’s piece. Initial the kids had a similar wooded animal backgrounds and I suggested maybe flowers to match her crocheted dress. The end result was such a contrast but we love it. 

I somehow managed to miss the fact the Paola actually had a Instagram feed for her work. I grabbed some screen shots of the portraits progress which she posted. So lesson learned. Keep that clean slate even when you are return customer! We got a late start this year because we didn't have the kids holiday portraits done till September. We opted to let Paola take her time. Hence why we are posting the portrait in the new year. Usually we have it by the kids birthday. 

It was so great working with Paola again, super excited for the project she is working on. Paley's 8th portrait is already in the planning process and I am already thinking of the twins 4th. We are going to experiment with something new again, looking to have their portraits done by two different artists. Should be an interesting process.