It occurred to me a couple of months ago that I needed to do some portraits for Christmas. In 2021, I’d painted portraits of my great nephew and niece for their parents, and there’ve been some additions since then!
I begged my sister to get some “good” pictures of the newbies…and quickly! Oil takes a long time to dry! I prefer back-lit pics with some light reflected on the face. That’s not too much to ask, right?
Getting good pictures of two-year-olds is no small feat. My sis captured one of LP one week in October when she had him at her house, and she promised to snap a good one of AB when she visited his family at the beginning of November.
AB proved to be much more difficult to capture! Almost all the pictures she and I took (because he came home with her) were just blurs or partial captures. He’s busy!
There’s really no perfect time for a baby portrait, but I really like the playfulness and developing sense of individuality that seems to show up in children around 2 to 3 years of age.
I’ve also discovered that my favorite part of the process is creating an underpainting, adding layers of transparent paint to increase values and letting the face take shape. Beth Dean, artist extraordinaire, once pointed out that an artist can use any combination of colors for a face, but it’s the value of each that creates the face. It took me a while to figure that out!
There’s always more to learn! Let this the year that we all make progress in every facet of life.
I pray that you are blessed in this New Year!
