I couldn’t share my Christmas portraits with you before Christmas because they were gifts, but I’ve been looking forward to the time when I could put them on the blog. They were such a joy to paint!
In September, I took a snapshot of my sweet Aunt Lori’s granddaughter when hubby and I visited Houston. I know that she is the apple of her grandparents’ eyes, and I hoped to do a good job on the likeness of this remarkable little girl. Aunt Lori sent me a huge, gorgeous, woven tray for Christmas, and while I was on the phone thanking her and Uncle Philip, they received my little surprise in the mail. What great timing!
When I finished that one, I started working on portraits of my great niece, age 5 months, and great nephew, who is 17 months old. I sent my sister on a mission to get a good photograph of my nephew on one of her many visits to Houston to see him, but that little guy is in constant motion, as he should be, I suppose, at this age!
My sister offered me a cute snapshot she got with her phone one day last year, and I could tell it was her favorite though it didn’t show his face. I determined then that I would paint the picture for her of the little man with his pudgy bare feet stomping sunbeams and his little fingers and hands spread out to help him keep his balance.
I happened upon a picture of the little guy that I thought would work nicely. I’m pretty sure that he was watching Mickey Mouse (can you see the reflection of mouse ears in his eyes?) before leaving for church, which allowed the photographer to catch his happy expression in a still-enough pose.
A picture of my niece was fairly easy to find. I took informal 5-month pictures of her in October when the family all got together to celebrate my mom’s birthday. She was just learning how to crawl, and she was very curious about my “big” camera.
My last portrait for 2021 was my most challenging. An old friend from a couple of decades ago reached out to me shortly before Thanksgiving with a request for a painting of her parents with quite a few edits. I was pretty stressed about delivering the changes, pleasing my customer, and getting the painting to her before Christmas! She lives in San Antonio, so it had to be mailed. Oil paintings can take a while to dry, depending on the number of layers of paint.
I’m itching to get back to the easel. I’m not sure what I’ll paint next. I hope someone will give me a project!
