Fishin' - SOLD

This little brother and sister love playing by the lake.  I love the fact that they have created their own fishing poles out of sticks.  One day they will look back and remember how they played side by side and know that they always had each other.

A Little Body Language

Sometime I come across a picture that just makes me want to paint.  This was one of those - the body language here makes me laugh and I asked the mom of Reese (the little girl in the picture) if I could paint this.  I love painting children but I find that I have to remind myself that when painting portraits the goal is to produce a "likeness" not a photograph.  Rosalind Cuthbert states that the question of what makes a good likeness is impossible to answer.  " If ten painters gathered around a single sitter their differing styles might produce radically different images, each of which might also be a good likeness. " I also like what Chris Saper says in the book, Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color and Light.  She says "Think of a portrait as a painting that just happens to star a particular person.  Without the interpretation of the artist to simplify information and decide what is important for the viewer, there's no need for a painting at all.  It would be faster and easier just to take a nice photograph and be done with it."   So if any of you are struggling with portrait painting....remember these words and be kind to yourself.