This commissioned painting was going to be a surprise gift from a husband to his wife, but he decided he couldn’t exclude her from the planning process. So he told her about it, and now it’s going to be their Christmas gift to themselves, for both of them!
They sent me a lot of pictures of their two kids on a recent camping trip to use as reference photos, and it was difficult to narrow down the options. This one ended up being the winner–I was drawn to the obvious expression of affection between the brother and sister as much as the composition made by their heads and bodies.
It’s been awhile since I’ve done a portrait, so I was a bit out of practice, but I truly enjoyed the challenge, and I’m happy with the result! I brightened up the colors quite a bit so they appear to be standing in full sun rather than under the shade of trees.
I think the overall effect is that the painting glows, and the children have a sort of halo of soft light surrounding them.
I took significant artistic liberties with the way I cropped the image and my completely made-up swirly background trees.
At 30″ x 24″, I can see this painting displayed as a prominent focal point in the family’s home!
Here’s a closeup of their faces:
This is a special painting for me because I’ve actually painted both of these children before, when they were very little:
I have a few other paintings currently in progress, also commissioned works to be given as Christmas gifts, so I’ll have to wait until after the holidays to share those.