Painted in 2002, this group portrait was displayed during October 2003 during the 17th anniversary of the Li’l Prince and Princess shop, a children’s fine clothing store at Countryside Village in Omaha where I kept portrait samples from 1995 until the store closed in 2007 when the owner retired.
Group portraits are my most complex projects. To show extra care, I had this one critiqued by my mentor, a retired art professor, before showing it to the family. Two doctors in Omaha, one an internist and one a cardiologist for children, commissioned this painting. I took photos of the children in their own home. At the family’s request I used a background from the family’s 2001 summer vacation for the background, Harper’s Ferry in West Virginia. I have seen it in reference books spelled both as Harper’s and as Harpers.
Rachel, the youngest child in the family, liked to make beautiful mosaics from eggshells and glass stones. Like her, I enjoy the sparkle and glint of sun on water, glass stones, and stained glass.
Daniel Smith Original Oils:
To paint the granite, I put “mica flecks” of two gold Daniel Smith luminescent oil colors on the rock. Working in layers, I stippled the surface with house-painting brush and used a natural sponge to apply some colors. You may notice the background of the rock is more cool in color and has softer, smaller marks. The foreground is more warm, with crisp marks and cracks. I used Daniel Smith metallic silver pigment under the river glazes and pearlescent white on the clouds.
