Burying Treasure
Burying Treasure
by Ellen Rice
Painting children is a joy and painting Burying Treasure was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had in a long time. I think I smiled the whole time I was painting. It's a typical moment on the shore, a brother burying his little sister in the sand. Grandpop just happened to look up at the right moment, grab his cell and snap a pic. When he found out I do portraits, he brought the picture to me to see if I could paint it. It's the second cell pic I've used as reference this year, the first being Keira's Way. Yes, cell pics are good enough. In the past year I've painted portraits from two cell pics and three very old printed pictures. Of the two media, cell pics are much easier. The colors are truer. I often copy the older pictures and convert them into black and white so I'm not influenced while I paint by looking at off colors. One of the grandmothers of the children in Burying Treasure visited my gallery the next year with her grandson in tow and he told the rest of the painting's story. It turns out little sis is a spunky girl. Not particularly pleased with being buried, just after Grandpop took his pic, she managed to get herself out of her sandy confines, grab the shovel from her brother and give him a good whack. Somehow I think she's not going to grow up to be a wilting violet. :) |