Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Emotional Connections

Curious watercolor by Meera Rao 10x14"

I painted this earlier in the year, about a year after her first birthday. It took me that long to get the courage to draw and then paint. I used several photographs as reference but one photograph that my daughter took of her niece became the basis of this painting. Her days are packed with play and curiosity and I am pretty pleased that I captured that sparkle in her eyes   I painted her eyes first and once I was satisfied with it, painting the rest of her became easier and pleasurable. 

Now I have to get busy and paint her 2nd year portrait as well as her newborn sister :) I hope to have at least one painting for each every year. It definitely  has been most satisfying to paint my grand daughter.  Arne Westerman in his book 'Paint Watercolors filled with Life and Energy' says "the artist must know that his emotional connection is only the starting point for a meaningful piece of work. There must be passion that drives the painting, followed by the creation of a solid composition. Thus the final rectangle will not simply be a statement of feeling or mood or a picture of something. It will be a complete painting with shapes, values, rhythm, color and balance, as well as subject matter. "  And I hope in the end my grand daughter will like it too ! 

16 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

Hello Meera, this is a lovely painting. She sure looks like she is having lots of fun.

padmaja said...

She is about to come to me Meera! Enjoyed this beautiful portrait.

Introverted Art said...

this is beautiful Meera!

Meera Rao said...

Carol, Thanks! yes, she loves to crawl in and out of the 'tunnel' :)

Meera Rao said...

Thank you, Padmaja :) isn't that fun?

Meera Rao said...

@Introverted Art, Thank you !! I really enjoyed painting her :)

Krishna/കൃഷ്ണ said...

Beautiful painting of baby

thanks

Vinayak Deshmukh said...

This is beautifully painted. You have certainly captured her mood in those lovely eyes :)

Kathy Staicer said...

Beautiful painting and beautiful sentiment.

Meera Rao said...

Thank you Kathy! Good to hear from you :)

Kuks said...

This has been my favourite photo of Kallie. Now there's a great painting to go with it!

Unknown said...

I like that quote that you read, Meera. You seem to find books and references that are really interesting to me. I will look for this book too! The painting is so expressive, more than a simple portrait, it shows the child's personality and captures her age so perfectly. Again, you've preserved a memory that will be treasured forever.

Meera Rao said...

Katherine, Thank you :) you will like that book -- it is filled with great tips, wonderful advice and terrific techniques. His compositions are truly extraordinary. I love to go back to it again and again :)

Meera Rao said...

Thanks Kuks :) Great to hear from you !

Meera Rao said...

Krishna, thank you!!!!

Meera Rao said...

Vinayak, Thank you so very much! I like her eyes and am tickled you think so too !

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...