Even If and Especially When

New painting commission I completed for my girlfriend. Her mom's birthday came and went earlier this month and as a special present she commissioned me to paint this piece for her, her mother's mother. I stretched and prepped the canvas and began work, from a teeny tiny source photo that was a pixelated scan of the original. But where is the original? No one is certain. So I had this tiny photo and another portrait to go off on for the facial reference. In the tiny photo it's unknown what she is holding, but since she passed on early in life (I recall her late 30's) it seemed fitting she would be holding an angel feather. Flowers are too cliché and such a pain in the butt to get correct it would be like painting another face; you have to get it correct because the eye is automatically drawn to it. If it's awful or awkward then the whole piece is for naught. Which is also why her face gave me a bit of work in the form of numerous revisions and touch ups. Gotta get it right, this is a family member and it has to look it. So, when the piece was presented I was pleasantly surprised to find that my girlfriend's mother completely loves the piece and thinks it very much looks like her late mother.

The piece and the source photos, from Ms. Cornpoppy's instagram. You can see the tiny photo compared to my classic iPod.