A few days before Christmas my mother spent the afternoon at my house and we baked cookies with my daughter and a neighbor. What a fun day we had! After three hours of cookie baking I asked my mom if I could take some photos of her so I could paint her. She was glad to have an excuse to stop icing cookies and glady posed for me, though this is not one of her favorite things to do. She’s made that clear.
This is a 16″x20″ oil painting on linen. It was such a sweet experience to paint my precious mother, I kept thinking about all the stories about her life that she’s told me. Here are a few photos from our “photo session”:
I wanted this to be an elegant portrait of my mother and I think I captured just the right expression. I have painted her before, from life, and because it was during the week of the hurricane and she was without her hairdresser (!), that one wasn’t exactly “elegant”, but it will always remind me of the time we spent together during Hurricane Ike. I haven’t shown this to her yet, but I think she’ll like it. And I know she’ll like it better than the last one I did.
Below is a photo from the day we decorated cookies. This is a tradition in our household, every year I make the kind of cookies you roll out and press and the kids help ice them.
Happy New Year to all my dear readers!
Beautifully rendered portrait, Joan. Wonderful soft edges, obviously lovingly painted. I can’t imagine your Mom would be anything less than thrilled.
What a lovely painting! I especially like how you did her hair. it looks soft and flattering. Your mom seems like a fun, loving person. Happy New Year.
What a wonderful thing to do! Your whole family will cherish this portrait for generations. I get so caught up in doing portraits for other people, that I never seem to take the time to do my own family and pets. I have taken lots of photos over the years to do just that… I think this will be one of my new years resolutions… take time to paint what maters to me this year! Thanks for sharing! I’ve really enjoyed your work!
What a beautiful portrait of your mother, Joan. It will be treasured for years to come, I’m sure!
What a beautiful smile your mom has!!!
Lucky you that you were able to get a good portrait of her. Does she like it???
I’ll bet your upcoming show will be a real hit!! You have such a diverse range of paintings… all wonderful, too!