Julie's new project - A Family Portrait

The Oakley Family Home
copyright Julie Oakley

Check out Julie Oakley's new 2007/8 drawing project -"A Family Portrait". Here's the challenge:

This is probably going to be the last year that all of the members of our family will be living in the same house, as my eldest child, Flo, will be off to university in September 2008. This is also the twentieth year that Robin and I have been together. So, every day for the next year I am going to celebrate our family by creating ‘portraits’ of each member of the family. I intend to interpret the brief very, very loosely, have fun with lots of different styles and techniques and may sometimes create pieces that take longer than a day. (Julie Oakley)

Check out the family. Her last family portrait (see above) is now somewhat old but the names and faces will be very familiar to all those who followed her 2006/7 project One Mile From Home.

• Julie Oakley
• Husband - Robin
  
• Eldest and only daughter – Flo
• Eldest son – Tom and his art blog
  
• Middle son – Hugo and his art blog
  
• Youngest son – Xavier
• and last but very far from least the family dog – Rufus (a red Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
  

A portrait a day looks to me like a commitment to one drawing a week each!

I think it's a really super project and is what I would term a real legacy. I'm sure Julie will be creating a book for each child at the end of it and what a super record that will be for each of them to have as they grow up and then have families of their own. I wonder how many bloggers will join in with this project?

The portraits are also being posted on Julie's other blog "Julie's Pictures" and if you want to comment on a portrait or read any associated text then that's where she'd like you to do it. This blog also contains her other sketches /drawings she makes - and she continues to walk and sketch.

On 13th June Julie and I are going to meet up for the first time. I'm a Member of the National Portrait Gallery and, before I knew what her new project was, I invited Julie to come with me to see the Private View of the BP Portrait Award which is held the day before the exhibition opens on 14th June. (This link includes images of the shortlisted candidates for the prizes. The exhibition runs to 16 September.) I'm now ticked pink by the relevance of the invite and we'll just have to see whether any of the portraits on show provide Julie with any ideas for her Family Portrait project.

[ Note: I don't know quite how I managed this but I seem to be back to back with three portraiture blog posts on the trot!]

Links:

• Julie Oakley - A Family Portrait
• Julie's pictures - her day-to-day blog (and the place to make comments on the portraits)
  
• One Mile from Home - Julie's last year long drawing project - and winner of the "Get Off Your Blogging Bottom and Sketch Brass Plate" 2006
  
• BP Portrait Award 2007