Having my work praised by a "jury of my peers" is the dream I felt was unattainable in my lifetime. Your comments are truly heartwarming. Thank you all.

Holly, thank you. He is a captivating little boy, and so much fun. I asked him if he had any freckles on the bridge of his nose, he crossed his eyes and said, "Hey, I can see my other eyeball!"

Thank you Linda N. His hands were one of my favorite parts of the painting too. My grandson posed as a "stand in" a couple of times too.

Linda B. Does this mean that I have to get business cards, a website, and brochures now? :o Guess I need to get things rolling here. Thank you, your comments mean a lot to me, maybe part of my heart did go into this one, I'm sorry it's done now.

Hi Garth, I appreciate all your praise, you make me blush. I guess I never saw all the challenges in this one, maybe that's a good thing. Somehow, I was able to bond with this little boy within 20 minutes, so I've become his adopted gramma and will be keeping contact with him periodically. I already have four grandsons, what's one more??

Jean

Jean,

This painting has all the qualities of a great painting:color, composition, expression and I like the brushwork. This is by far your best. I'm also partial to red-heads for some strange reason.

Congragulations!

Hi Mike.

Thank you, thank you. I'm partial to red-heads too, I was a red-head for awhile but hubby didn't think I had the "stuff" to be a real one. :sunnysmil

Jean

Jean -

Wow - this is so strong! My favorite of yours so far as well! Great job.

Wonderful painting, Jean, and yes, I believe it is your best yet, too. Time to march down to your local Kinko's with this image on a CD and get a few hundred business cards made with a closeup of this portrait on it. Great work!

I have no experience painting, but I have many many years' experience being a redhead! Let me tell you that wearing red when you have red hair is a challenge. Often the two reds clash. This little boy's hair color is identical to mine and you have done a miraculous job with color here. He looks like he has the coloring of a redhead and then you were able to successfully reflect the red from his shirt onto his coloring. Somehow these reds work, they don't clash and it amazes me!!!

Besides, he is adorable and you did an incredible job capturing his spirit and impishness!!!

Congratulations!!!

Patricia, Thank you so much, compliments from a true redhead (your tinyhead) are heartwarming. I think that not using any ochre, sienna, umber, or black on my palette may have helped with the reds not clashing. Also hair, shirt, and skin shadowed areas are created with the addition of a mixed violet in different intensities. I was tempted many times to grab the sienna or black so ended up hiding all of them in a tackle box!

Michele, you have been one of my inspirations. Watching your growth on this forum has kept me going many times. Thank you, and I'll get the cards now. I've been printing out postcards on a heavy weight matte paper and will be taking them around to all the area galleries. It's time to generate some paying work!

Kim, I've watched you struggle too, and cheered for you (a certain cowboy on the bordello porch comes to mind)! Thank you, I appreciate it.

Jean

Jean, I'm not sure that will get you anywhere. Most portrait artists get their commissions through word of mouth, not galleries. Many galleries are reluctant to establish a relationship with artists who work on commission. Check out the business and marketing threads for a dozen different ideas on how to get work.

Hi Michele, I'll head back there again. I can't do the art fair route because I can't depend on a fully functioning body. I may have to do some charity auctions, and I've been in contact with some of my old interior design clients (from my custom bedroom days). We have something called the "Parade of Homes" coming up here, and I'll see if I can get some of my work displayed. I have one commission coming in, but that's certainly not enough.

I also do animals, here's my latest: "The Gypsy Girl". I had her in the last show and could have sold it 10 times over. I may make a giclee of her.

Jean

Jean, great job. He looks like one of those kids that'll say "bang, bang, you're dead" to complete strangers while shooting them with a plastic revolver after hiding behind clothes in a department store.

Michele's idea of cards with the closeup sounds like a good way to go. Good luck.

ps. You may even consider either a separate card or a two-sided one with the dog's pic. I don't know your area, but when I did airbrushing at the mall, parents would balk at the price of having thier child on a shirt, but pet owners never blinked.