14x11" Oil on Stretched Canvas
As I was painting "Yellow Roses", I received an email from my friend, Henry, who offered some friendly advice regarding my painting subjects:
"More faces,
Fewer vases."
Here you go, Henry . . .
About three years ago, I did a photo shoot with my mother. She had been visiting from Dallas for a couple of weeks and was about to fly back home. I sat Mom by a window with strong indirect light and proceeded to take pictures - about 40 in all. Her expression changed according to the subject of our conversation. She became sad when she spoke of my father, with whom she shared 50 years of marriage until he passed away a few years back. My sister called in the middle of the shoot, and I put her on speaker phone while I continued snapping photos. At the time, Mom was living with my sister. Our conversation became friendly bantering about who was Mom's favorite daughter. Of course, I was the favorite in that moment in time because I was treating her like a movie star, not to mention the two weeks of pampering, shopping, pedicures and such! I painted this portrait from a photo that was taken during that conversation with my sister. I will post it on http://dailypaintworks.com as part of the "Paint an Emotion Challenge". My mother was 79 at the time and is now 82. I knew I had captured her likeness when I saw the twinkle in her eyes!
