My first commission from the phone book.  Yes, it happens.

Emily is as full of life as this photo shows. In fact, it was tough to find just one expression to fit the bill. She has many sides to her, all of them equally Emily. Her parents were concerned about her teeth showing, since she was at the age where they decide to come out.  Not a problem for me since I have a bit of an issue with smiling portraits. Basically, would much rather not do them. Why? because the bigger the smile, the smaller the eyes. In Emily’s case especially, her eyes spoke volumes. Would not want that beautiful feature diminished at all.

While painting, I had one of my intuitive strikes to make a major change. I added a lake to the scene. However,  there was no lake. I do things like that. Fortunately, Emily’s parents understood, thank goodness. There was much too much green and white in the painting, and I felt it called for some blue- and yes- purple. I do what it takes to make good painting, first and foremost.  You can find it here.