Scarlett Owen - 75.0cm x 120.0cm - Acrylic on Canvas - November 2016

To round up a busy year of painting for me, is my latest portrait of is of Scarlett, the 2-year old daughter of this portraits patron, James Owen.  Pictured asleep with her favourite teddy, which she has been inseparable with since birth.  

I made her face the focus of the painting, highlighting this area; whitening out her face slightly, giving it a softer, more ethereal edge, adding to her already sweet, angelic look.  

By underpainting a warm light peach/orange colour, the overall colouration is warmer than the source photograph, which you can see through in sections of the portrait, and is most prominent in the bottom centre of the composition.  Both tonally, and in colour, the bedsheets, teddy and Scarlett are similar, so I was conscious that the small areas of darkest shadow and her hair were key to give this picture the contrast it needed.