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MEDIUM: Acrylic on Canvas
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SIZE: 16" x 12"
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STATUS: Not for sale; done as a commission
"I'm reluctant to take on a commission when it requires me to paint people. It took three years for me to agree to doing this painting! When Mary first showed me a snapshot of her and her sister Jean from over 20 years ago and asked if I could reproduce it as a painting, I told her I didn't think I could do a good job. Since then I have gained a bit more confidence doing human portraits. So when she approached me again recently, I decided to be more open-minded and accepted the challenge. The snapshot was very unusual, with the painted faces of two sisters and interesting lighting. I knew the captured moment was special to Mary. I hoped I could do it justice.
I must admit that I struggled to get this one looking right! After scanning the small snapshot and tweaking the image in Photoshop to get more definition in the dark areas, I printed an enlarged photo to guide me. I sent photos of my progress to Mary, and her feedback was enormously positive right from the start. She said "OMG, Judy! I LUV it. Don’t you? You just have such a unique eye for lighting. And you said you don’t do portraits! I’m excited." How could I not be encouraged to continue?
As I put the finishing touches on "We Were Fierce" I felt great about the painting, but even better from delighting Mary with the results."
