It was a wonderful week of painting practice! I am loving the exploration into different skin tones, and mixing and layering colors to achieve some light and depth to my portraits. 

Mercy – 5 x 7 inch acrylic painting on gessobord  

My sister took this photograph of a young girl in Nairobi last year. Such a sweet face to paint! This painting of Mercy is now in my sister’s home.

Inira – 5 x 7 inch acrylic painting on gessobord

I used a few more of my sister’s photographs as references too, although I veered off into my own direction after a while.

Ayana – 5 x 7 inch acrylic painting on gessobord

This one probably changed the most from the original image…so there are lots of layers here. With each portrait I finish, I learn more about facial structure, shading, highlights, and skin tones…I learn what to do, and what I need to change.  I hope to spend more time this week, on a variety of portraits. 

Inira and Ayana portraits are now available in my Etsy shop, ArtcyLucy.