This past weekend my niece Katrine had her first birthday. Unfortunately I wasn’t there to share a piece of birthday cake with her, but I wanted to give her a very personal gift.
My parents and my sister have kept me well up to date, by sending me photos of our new little family member. It is all thanks to them that, although I haven’t actually met her yet, the photos have given me a sense of having followed her after all, seen her grown and develop, as well as I got a good idea of her facial expressions.
My parents sent me this picture a while back, I loved it, because she has such an attitude in both face and body. So I cropped it, and started to work on a small portrait. I find babies really hard to portray - possibly since their faces are so unfinished and smooth.
But I was determined to do a solid attempt. I worked on it for a day - then left it around so I saw it all the time. That is really helpful, as you over time see what needs to be changed. This ended up as my finished result. I packed it up well, and mailed it all the way from the post office on Guam, to my parents on the Danish West coast...
