My latest commission, a sweet family portrait for a 10th anniversary gift to the Mr. of a truly awesome couple.  These kids are so adorable and their pup played right along.  The client wanted a traditional pose and not much background so I was happy to accommodate.  The painting is 20×24 acrylic on archival canvas.

the final, a couple of darling kids with their pup!

Here’s one of the reference shots I worked from:

close up of each:

Portraits of children are a challenge with their soft features, there is a delicate balance you need to find when painting them.  You run the risk of having them look too old, to cartoony or too much like cabbage patch kids.  Also, working with flash, indoor shots are always tough as it further flattens the subjects so I was lucky that I had a few pics to pull from.  I loved painting an Airedale for the first time, my favorite breed is Welsh Terrier which is the smaller cousin to this handsome fellow.

This fun-loving Colorado family are such an amazing group of people!  Happy Anniversary P’s!  Hope you enjoy it!