I’ve been painting up a storm over the last few weeks, and this one is probably my favorite of them all…possibly my favorite portrait of the year.

Emma In a Top Hat – 11 x 14 inch acrylic painting on Ampersand Gessobord (SOLD, thank you!)

I have been taking Julie Johnson’s online class, Painterly Portraits, and I am learning to be more loose with my brush strokes. And I think the practice may be paying off. I love love love the looseness of this one, I think it really adds to the already quirky feel of this painting. I tried painting this portrait four years ago, from an image I loved from Vogue magazine, and though I liked it at the time, it lacked depth, and color saturation. It’s clear that my online classes, and lots of painting practice, has really helped!

I’ll be practicing more portrait painting soon… but in the meantime, there are new art necklaces in my shop!