Once they were small

None of the grand kids are babies anymore, they are all in high school or older, but we all like to remember the days when they were younger.

This painting was created from a composite of four formal portraits done of the kids when they were younger. All were taken in the same year, so the age relationship is correct, the youngest was under two, the two older girls were seven and the young man was around three. Our grandson will graduate from high school this year. My how time flies.

Portrait painting is not my strength, but I do love trying to capture someones essence and image in paint. Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you don't. Some time ago, I painted two of the grandchildren in separate portraits for their parents as a gift. I thought the one of my grandson captured him very well, but I felt that I missed the mark on my granddaughter. When the parents opened the gifts, they saw it entirely differently.

It's all in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?