Mother's Portrait

The main idea that guided this project was my mom. My inquiry question was: How can I use my love for female portraiture to honor the women who are most important to me? I wanted to create a portrait that portrayed her in all the ways I see her. I incorporated her favorite colors, medium and plants.  

I used a photo I took over the summer for my reference. This is one of my favorite photographs of my mom because its candid. She is one of those people who has a "camera face" and I'm always chiding her about it. When she does it she doesn't look like herself. I wanted to honor her true  unmasked self by using this photo. I started by sketching a form from this reference, I made her figure close to the side of the portrait for interest and also so the view questions where she's looking, what she's thinking about, or doing. They have to make it up in their head. I lightly went in with pastels, adding color and form.  She has always loved red, and I associate it with her so I made her blouse red, layering different shades of red and some black.  I used colored pencils for some details like the comfrey flower shes holding, the stem was difficult to detail with the thick pastels.  In doing the landscape background I used a firmer stroke and mixed in many different colors, adding contrast with blacks and yellows.