Being pregnant and having a child is a completely unique event that usually only takes place a few times in a woman’s life. All the more reason to celebrate the process and enjoy some special moments in your pregnancy, even during a busy life, where you also often have to work, build a home, finish projects and get ready.

For the last 15 years I have been painting on bellies for baby showers and mother blessings and it is a great way to gather all the friends / family / colleagues to celebrate the pregnancy. There is lots of laughter, great stories, champagne bubbles and cake at those parties and I love being the creative element. It’s a type of party that really brings a group together and that none of you will ever forget.

The paintings of pregnant bodies have been in my life for the last 25 years since I entered midwifery education, happy and totally fascinated by what such a body is capable of in pregnancy and childbirth. Your body did it! It got pregnant and now you are giving life to another human. It’s a miracle, no matter what else you may think of your body. Not all the women I paint have the supermodel body on a daily basis, but common to them is, that right there at the end of their pregnancy, they are goddesses of the new life. It gives a special empowerment to have that goddess body painted and hang it on the wall at home. I often hear how the pregnant woman’s partner is also overly excited. If you have older children, they can also join you on the painting.

Siblings can also join for parent-child pictures. It may be breastfeeding, but may just as well be you cuddling your baby, bottle-feeding, or hugging your adopted miracle baby. It can also be a portrait of the parent, who has not given birth to your child.

The love and unity parent / child are the central element here and because the little ones can never sit still long enough, the process also consists of us together finding a good photograph to paint after.

I love to nerd with all the fine details of little ears, feet and light compositions from the images where love is always present. It is no coincidence that Madonna with the child is one of the most beloved motifs in the whole world, and you radiate the same beauty, love and dignity as her when you sit with your child in a shopping mall on a rainy Tuesday.

You are a parent and you perform the most important task in the world.

All the pictures can be done with or without face – here it is just important to state that I am not a trained portrait painter, so do not expect a photographic resemblance.