Ashley the Great

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks because we have been in Cuba! This is a portrait of my great-grandaughter (yes! a perk of marrying an older man - he made me a great-grandmother. Look at her! I'll take it.)
When I got back and started going through my photos I was a little overwhelmed with where to start. So many beautiful images! So I pulled out this photo of her:

 and did this quick pencil sketch in my sketchbook:

I thought it might make a nice little portrait.

The technique I used is called grisaille. I started by using only black and white paint and once that dried I glazed colors over the top of it. 

Here she is!

     I don't know if I did this in a true grisaille style because I felt more like I was painting over the black and white rather than just glazing colors over the top. Oh well. Once she is dry and I am able to varnish and frame her, she will be on her way to Cuba to her parents' house.

I also want to share the portrait I painted, over ten years ago, of her father.

He was 11 years old when I last saw him (prior to this visit). I thought he was a wonderful and affectionate boy and he has grown into an amazing young man, willing to pose for me under a palm tree on the same beach. 

And . . . one last photo for this post (I'm sure I'll be posting more of Cuba as I work on paintings.) Probably my favorite of the whole trip. 

Me and my grandson.