One portrait down…two more to go. I just finished this one a few days ago.

This little girl has the most crazy beautiful blue eyes and I really wanted them to be the focus of the painting.

Every portrait I do takes a few weeks. I paint a different layer every day (sometimes twice a day depending on the time I have) and then sand each layer down slightly. I scratch away paint, I do some glazing, I layer on some ephemera….and then I sand it all down and restart the process. The result is a very textured, weathered, interesting portrait. I never know what they will look like until I am finished….i.e. I don’t have a plan when I start.

This girl’s family has recently moved to Philly for 2 years while her dad goes to business school so I included a Liberty Bell to signify that time in her life.

A closeup of some of the texture and distressing:

Some old transportation tickets wrapped around the side (this painting was on a 2.5″ gallery canvas):

Scratching away of the paint and some layers peeking through:

Some stamps and old papers:

My little portrait business is always the busiest around the holidays. I have a few more to finish and ship before Christmas. If anyone needs me I’ll be up late at night in the painting studio for the next month! You can see more of my work on my painting website if interested.