In my work I like to depict moments of casual intimacy and connection between adults and/or children in domestic settings. These subtle intimacies are shown through a look, a gentle touch, or an ordinary instance of providing care. Images of everyday life such as a father holding his new baby, a mother dressing her child, or the celebration of marriage are just some of the moments I have chosen to capture. I really enjoy exploring the way emotion and meaning can be conveyed through the way two figures relate to each other in an image.

I have always looked to my surroundings and personal experiences for my artistic inspiration, so for me, it seemed natural that motherhood should be no exception. I was surprised to find, however, that most artists consider images of children to be "kitschy" as if they were somehow in the same box as hearts and bunny rabbits. As a woman and a mother, however, it is my belief that children are a part of everyday life and therefore hold the same artistic value as any other object of inspiration in an artist’s every day surroundings. In response to this notion, it is my goal is to bring back to life the decaying idea of respect towards the family by portraying everyday scenes in a way that will inspire the viewer with a sense of reverence towards the image.

My ink work holds a reminiscent value owing to the use of multiple, transparent washes on an off-white ground. These are my memorials to those fleeting moments that may only be captured in memory. With my more recent gouache work, however, I have tried to choose photos that contain a certain resemblance to well known renaissance images. I want to make work that depicts scenes like a mother with her child and inspire a similar type of reverence in the viewer that they might hold for an image of the Madonna and Child. After all, the image can also be seen simply as a mother holding her child.

While I still hope to brake into the sphere of the professional art world, my preference has made my skills more suitable for portraiture than for public exhibition. I do not regret this, however, because I feel that I have found a real niche as a portrait artist.

Jennifer Withrow, 10 November 2009