Watercolor Portrait of a Woman

Watercolor painting on watercolor paper, 2003

I worked with Linda in the same publishing company many years ago when I was an in-house illustrator, in Nashua, New Hampshire. I had a one-man exhibit of my portrait paintings in a local college gallery. Linda loved my portrait paintings, and always wanted me to do a portrait painting of her. As her birthday present from her husband, she asked me to take her commission.

Even though we had known each other a long time, I needed to know her better to paint her well. I visited her in her home for several hours, listening to her stories, learning about her family, her background and her life. We talked about how she should dress and where she would sit. I returned a few days later and began the portrait. I arranged her in many different poses, made quick pencil sketches of ideas for composition, and chose the best pose. I made a watercolor sketch and took multiple photos of the final pose for reference.

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If you are interested to have your portrait done, check out my portrait commission information.