Dynamic Duo

For this project, my main goal was to experiment with a new painting medium—gouache paints. Given in a painting class, we were asked to make a painting of our choice. The only limitation was the size of the paper where it had to be at max 11 x 14 inches. Since I enjoy making portraits, specifically of people closest to me, I began to look through my photos. I came across a photo of my ma and I at my first birthday and thought that it would be great to make. I’ve never painted a baby before, so this would have broadened my portraiture scope. I wanted it to be as proportionately correct as possible, and so I taped off a 9 x 12 rectangle and began to grid it out by 1-inch boxes. After sketching the image, I slowly began painting section to section. I had to be careful not to work in too many layers, as the gouache underneath could reactivate when wet and mess up my work. It was a really fun process to do this painting. My ma and I are very close, hence the title “Dynamic Duo” and I did make this painting with the intent to give it to her as a gift.