Above is a 24x30 inch painting that was commissioned to be a gift for a 30th anniversary (acrylic on illustration board). With a handful of life's demands that I am juggling these days—the portrait was completed within one month!
While working directly from a 5x6 inch photo, I was able to take some creative-license with the details (specifically the henna, the pattern on her dress, and the flowers in the background since the client wanted them a bit larger). The fun/challenging part of working on this was the skin tones and trying iridescent paint for the first time—when the light hits areas of the dress, light dances across it—very cool—without being tacky (which I was afraid of, but was relieved with the tasteful results). This specific project reminded me of how much I love working with my hands, eyes, faces and paint. I love my computer, but give me a moment, a face, a paint brush and a nice nook to work in (with some coffee) — that is perfection.
Labels: TRADITIONAL PORTRAIT
