I paint from pictures I take myself of my subjects, and when I’m painting children that can sometimes be a problem. 

For example, when I first arrived to photograph Molly, she was shy and reserved, unwilling to goof off with someone she’d just met and especially when that person was trying to take her picture.  By the time I was done with the photo-session, Molly was asking when I was coming over again.  Thinking of that still makes me happy: it’s one thing to make my adult subjects comfortable and quite another to befriend the younger ones!

To learn more about the making of this painting, watch this vlog.