1959 Chevy Impala at the Wigwam Hotel

This painting of a vintage car at the Wigwan Hotel on Route 66 is headed to its new home on Monday. Credit goes to my cousin, Jeff Rashid  who took the perfect reference photo, and graciously shared it with me.

785 Worried

 

As this little girl sat on the bench to rest at her soccer game, she appeared to be worried about something, and I couldn't help but snap a photo of her.

"785 Worried"
acrylic - 8.5x11 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/785-worried/462529

dianecampion.blogspot.com

778 Tareq

This painting was such a challenge because I had a tiny photo to use as a reference, and printing it larger didn't help much.  This young boy is such a gentle soul and so charming that I'm sure I haven't done him justice with this painting, but I will try again with another photo. 

"778 Tareq"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/778-tareq/447351

dianecampion.blogspot.com

769 When I Grow Up...

"769  When I Grow Up..."
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/769--when-i-grow-up/442355

dianecampion.blogspot.com

767 Confidence Comes With the Hat

Dress up boxes are great gifts for kids.  They have so much fun being whoever they want to be with no expectations.  I guess I shouldn't generalize--adults can ham it up when given the chance to let their guard down. 

"767 Confidence Comes With the Hat"
acrylic - 5x5 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/767-confidence-comes-with-the-hat/441605

dianecampion.blogspot.com

766 More, Please

This little guy has a big fan base.  He is a good natured baby with a loving family, including a sweet big brother who adores him.  In the reference photo, the child has dinner all over his face, but I wasn't up for painting that!  Even though he is too young to talk (don't be fooled by all that hair!), I imagined him saying "More, please."

"To all children, in all places, may you live in peace and with fullness of heart." (and tummy)
author unknown

"766 More, Please"
acrylic - 9x7 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/766-more-please/440972
dianecampion.blogspot.com

761 All About the Eyes

Learning to paint portraits is an ongoing challenge.  Undoubtedly, the eyes are the favorite part of the painting for me, but often the placement is difficult.  It is so easy to mess things up by not having one eye positioned the same as the other.  The direction of the "look" is so easily changed by the position and the level of the lids, as well as the little glint.

The nose.  That's another story.  Noses are all so different and I find them the most challenging.  This little girl has a perfect nose with a perfect little triangle at the tip.  My version of her nose is not perfect. 

Since I have been painting portraits, when I meet someone, I find myself studying the face and the placement of the features.  I never paid much attention to those details before. But now they are important.  Nevertheless, I keep plugging away.  I am running out of photos of people showing no teeth, which look  like chicklets in a painting. 
"761 All About the Eyes"
acrylic - 4x4 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/761-all-about-the-eyes/439006

dianecampion.blogspot.com

760 Angelic

This is Isaac.  He is my friend's son and the subject of "756 Thinking It Over."  Her children are beautiful, engaging, well behaved and smart. 

"760 Angelic"
acrylic - 8x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/760-angelic/438768
dianecampion.blogspot.com

756 Thinking Things Over

"756 Thinking Things Over"
acrylic - 4x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/756-thinking-things-over/437300

dianecampion.blogspot.com

755 Wonderment

"755 Wonderment"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/755-wonderment/436974

dianecampion.blogspot.com

747 August

"747 August"
acrylic - 5x5 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/747-august/434632

dianecampion.blogspot.com

746 The Eldest Daughter

In a family with seven children, she was the second child, the eldest daughter, born to Lebanese immigrants who came to the United States to chase the American Dream.  Throughout her life, she was faced with great responsibilities, and always fulfilled them with grace.  She was beautiful and lovely and sweet.

"746 The Eldest Daughter"
acrylic - 6x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/746-the-eldest-daughter/434494

dianecampion.blogspot.com

745 Welcome to the Gullah Grub Restaurant

Chef Bill Green prepares a menu filled with Gullah family recipes that will make your mouth water.  Choose from barbequed ribs, fried chicken, seafood gumbo, shrimp and grits, corn bread, peach cobbler, with lemonade and swamp water to drink.  Anthony Bourdain visited the restaurant several years ago and that put  Gullah Grub on the map.  Not only does he cook, he welcomes you at the door, and may even serve you your food.  He's quite a character and I enjoyed painting him, except for the teeth.  His salt and pepper beard gave me a little trouble, but as I have said many, many times, each new day brings a new lesson.

"745 Welcome to the Gullah Grub Restaurant"
acrylic - 6x6 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/745-welcome-to-the-gullah-grub-restaurant/434300

dianecampion.blogspot.com

743 Beautiful Bride

I got to thinking today that it must be a little scary for my family now that I am painting portraits, because they will never know when they will be the subject of my learning attempts.  Poor things.

Again there is much to learn and despite warnings about painting teeth, I just had to experience it.  This lovely young woman has a big smile in nearly every photograph I have of her, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm not going to lie, it was difficult, but I tried not to overwork or get too fussy.  Not sure I'd want to make a habit of painting teeth.

"743 Beautiful Bride"
acrylic - 10x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/743-beautiful-bride/433981

dianecampion.blogspot.com
 

741 More of Myself

This morning I woke up with a strong urge to correct what you didn't see in this painting yesterday. Although I feel a little awkward posting "myself" two days in a row, I had so many thoughts about portrait painting today that I want to share.  Just a slightly off curve or a fraction of an inch in the spacing of the eyes can blow a portrait because a likeness will be missing.  And one little thing can affect all of the expressions in the face.  For example, my husband, who has never had any creative training, yet always seems to know just what is wrong with a painting, thought I looked sad in the painting, so back to the studio I went to make myself look happier.  A little up turn of the mouth, more pouf on the cheeks and a little something to the eyes made "me" as happy as possible without starting over.  He then commented that my eyes still look sad.  Oh well.  I still learned a lot through this experience.

It occurred to me, too, that portrait painting is a powerful position to be in.  I could have given myself lips like Angelina Jolie's and a beautiful nose like Adele's.  HA!

Tomorrow a new adventure:  I will tackle painting TEETH!

741 Selfie

I suppose the title of this painting should be "Former Selfie" since this is a reference photo taken 5 years ago.  I wish I could say I haven't aged since then, but that would be a lie.  I thought it would only be fair to paint a self-portrait since I have bombed a few family portraits.  I wondered if it would be easier or more difficult to paint myself.  It was just as difficult, even though I see that mug in the mirror every day.  I need to make some adjustments to the larger painting but will do so tomorrow.

"741 Selfie"
acrylic - 6x4 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/741-selfie/433522

740 A Moment in Time

Thirteen years ago, during a summer vacation, my family visited a beautiful gallery with a lovely courtyard and gardens.  My daughter couldn't resist plucking a flower from the garden and I snapped a photo of her.   I felt so welcome there at that inviting and peaceful place, but little did I know that I would be represented by this gallery many later.  I have always loved the photo of my daughter, but now I appreciate it so much more.  I enjoyed painting her with her look of happiness and joy over such a simple and sweet little pansy.

"740 A Moment in Time"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/740-a-moment-in-time/433359

739 Woman With Pink Hat

A dress-up box provides lots of  photo opportunities for paintings.

"739 Woman With Pink Hat"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/739-woman-with-pink-hat/433151

738 Innocence

"738 Innocence"
acrylic - 8x8 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/738-innocence/432904

737 Avery, a study

It is strongly recommended that artists paint a study of a scene portrait to get colors and proportions right.  I tend to be impatient and often skip this step, but I have learned that it takes much more time to correct errors in the painting, so the study is a very valuable tool.  This is Avery, my best friend's granddaughter. Although she looks sweet and innocent as can be, she is a feisty little girl and gives her parents a run for their money.  I just love that about her!!!

"737 Avery, a study"
acrylic - 8x10 in

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/737-avery-a-study/432754