Every painter has their weaknesses. For some, it’s drawing faces, for others, painting hands. Some people are terrified of the color green, since it seems to be so hard to get it looking realistic and pleasing to the eye.
I’ve been painting portraits for about 4 years now, portraits of the living and the dead, men and women, old and young, but little children have always been very hard for me to paint. There’s nothing like painting a 4 year old and have them come out looking like a 10 year old! Little by little I am stretching my wings, so when I saw this little girl’s photo, I knew I had to paint her. I was thrilled as the portrait came together and it does appear that she is the right age, so I must be “getting” it.
Arwen is special. We “met” in Italian class. Her mother and I sat next to each other whenever we could because our ability in the Italian language was very similar. I also suspect that she sat next to me so that I would not sketch her; the whole time I was in that Italian class, I was sketching my instructor and my classmates.
Arwen’s mother also impressed me because I knew she had a little one at home but she still managed to take a class and stay awake through it, and did all her homework too. I knew this little baby would be in good hands. I haven’t met Arwen since she was born, but at least I’ve had a chance to paint her face.