Portrait of Meilea

I decided to really challenge myself and paint a portrait of my daughter, Meilea.  I took this photograph of her sometime this winter and just couldn't get over how beautiful she is and just loved the picture.  It seemed like a perfect place to start.  I also have this wonderful book about painting portraits in oil that I used as I progressed through the painting to get tips on good color combinations, particularly for the hair and skin.  Below are several photos showing the painting in different stages.  The 5th one shows the painting next to the photo, and the last one is the completed portrait.    It took me about a week from start to finish, but I admittedly did not work on the painting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so more like 4 days, each session about 4 hours.  I did the original drawing in pencil directly on the canvas, used acrylic to do the base coat and create a monotone value study, then finished it in oil.  Very pleased with the results!

Meilea, 18"x24", oil, 2013