Aunt Laurie

I painted this portrait for my mom, as a Christmas gift for her whole family. This is my mom's older sister, Laurie, whose life was taken by cancer in her early twenties before I was born. I see my mother and each of my aunts in her face, and I grew up knowing who she was. I always felt like I knew her, even though I wasn't alive to meet her. This was tough to paint for emotional reasons, but I am so glad I have the skill set to create this for the people I love.

5 hours in Photoshop with an Intuos 3 tablet