Partly because of the mounting pressure (grandparents, friends, random people who make the connection between the artist and the baby) to paint my beautiful baby daughter, and partly because I just needed to paint something and enjoy it, I made this little wet-into-wet study. I call it a study because I have a grand idea to make two largish (24x24 or larger) paintings of my kids to go on our bare walls.

Here is the reference photo:

There were pretty much  just three steps in this painting:

Step 1. Drawing. I used the grid method, with grid lines every inch.

Step 2. First layer, wet-into-wet (except for the highlights in the eyes, those I left dry).

Step 3. Another layer of wet-into-wet, with a few details added. I wanted to keep everything soft except for the right eye, so I left most of the edges alone without going back and defining them more. I can see so many things not quite right with this painting...especially when comparing to the reference photo - but at some point, you just have to let it go. Overall, I am happy with the freshness and softness I was able to achieve. What do you think?

P.S. Want me to make a painting from your photo? Read more here or contact me right away.