Saturday, December 26, 2009

A Willow in the Birches

As if the Christmas season didn't spread me thin enough, I decided, at the 11th hour, to paint a piece for my 12 year old niece, Willow. Aptly titled, "A Willow in the Birches," this painting was inspired by her performance in the Nutcracker this year. She had practiced tirelessly the weeks leading up to the performance only to have the show postponed due to a sizable snowstorm. Lucky for all of us it was rescheduled and we were able to attend a truly magnificent ballet. As I watched my niece dance on the stage, I found myself realizing that right before my eyes my little Willow was growing up and turning into a beautiful, well poised and generally awesome young woman. I knew that I wanted to capture her ethereal nature on canvas and so I set to painting this piece.