My sister Anne has been a willing subject for me over the years. It’s fun to see how my style has progressed from the early works. Anne and her husband Tom came to Maine to visit us last July, and we all sat down to have a beer. Anne mentioned that her favorite was Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. We’d never heard of it. Shortly thereafter, she sent us a photo, and I knew it would make a great painting. The challenge was to get a good likeness without really seeing her eyes... but the sunglasses were so movie-star! I was very pleased with the results.
The two paintings below are earlier works. The first is an oil of Anne in the White House. She and Tom were frequent visitors to Aunt Molle’s Washington apartment, and she arranged for them to have a White House tour. The bright colors of Anne’s dress made a lively contrast to the subdued elegance of the chair and the gardens outside.
The second work is my first foray into colored pencils. Tom snapped a picture of Anne and Danny, their Golden Retriever, as they napped on a summer afternoon in their Cape house. I loved the diagonal pattern of hands and paws, and the sweet moment captured in this picture.
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