Isabella

[Julia Reynolds]

Hello fellow artists,

This little cutie lives in California and I live on Long Island, NY so I have not even seen this child in person.

Her grandmother is a very good friend of mine and I told her I would attempt to paint her portrait from this photo. I told her all the drawbacks to painting from a photo and in my experience I have been more successful painting from life. I have been thrown off by photos before.

Could I get some input, advice, caveats...you get the picture, on how to approach this painting. My friend does have a few more shots just to get a different view of her head. Should I use them as well?

I am concerned about the neck of her shirt. Should I cut if off as in the photo or extend it or crop it up even further. What kind of background color? I want the curl to really be a point of interest but not the focal point.

Please help. Thanks.