“Baby A”
Virginia, 2021
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Holbein Watercolor
Arches Cold Press, 300gsm
10x16 in
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A portrait of a newborn in her first delightful onesie at the hospital. Based on a photograph provided by the grandmother.
This painting was made during a brief stay in Virginia while I binge-watched Kim’s Convenience. The TV in the rental was clearly haunted; it would occasionally turn on by itself in the middle of the night and blast televangelist infomercials at full volume.
First progress shot! I started with the face because that was the most important part of the piece—if I messed up the face, the whole painting was a wash, and I'd have to start over. Thankfully, I was able to capture her likeness without a hiccup!
A fairly big jump between this one and the last! The biggest hurdle I faced here was trying to figure out how to render the background. She was laying on a fuzzy blanket in her cradle, and I didn't want the detail to overwhelm the image.
Here I added more subtle face detailing and started the butterfly pattern! I was hesitant to go too dark at first until I got the hang of measuring the value on the brush. The fine monarch lines were trickier than the wider swath of black on the cap.
Complete! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a nice picture of it after I removed it from my painting board—but she turned out lovely nonetheless! The family loved it, and I was happy to be a small part of their joy.