As a result of my gift of a portrait I did of my recently deceased cousin to his widow, I suddenly have a few more commissions. The reactions of my Italian cousins to the gifted portrait was “Oh, will you paint a picture of my (daughter, son, parents)?” And so I must introduce you to Caterina, who was a beloved mother and daughter and wife and died far too young.

One of the reasons this painting is so lovely is because I was given a really good photograph to work from. Caterina was in a piazza somewhere bathed by the sun.
As much as you might love that flash photo that you took of your grandfather in 1973, that doesn’t mean it has enough good information to make a portrait from. On the other hand, some old black and white photos have amazing resolution, and can be used as reference material for really fine portraits.