Ian

Ian's portrait would require something different. As a gift, the picture would mean more to him if it was of something that he was very much into, namely skateboarding. I took him out one day for an action photo shoot and went from there.

He is really very good at this difficult and sometimes despised urban sport. Unfortunately, he took a bad fall a few months ago and will soon undergo major surgery on his knee.

Ariane

Ariane is my husband's middle daughter, and she was with Annie and I on that fall hike. I had brought the camera along to get landscape shots of the flaming Ontario fall foliage that was everywhere around us. It seems that the portrait shots were better; either that or I was ready for a change.

My next challenge was to see if I could paint a face directly. It was facinating to paint the effects of such strong lighting.

With two done and three to go, I decided that I would paint portraits of all the kids for Christmas gifts. But I would have to work fast.

Annie

It was time to attempt a portrait. I chose a windswept pose of my daughter for my first try. She was overlooking a high bluff on one of those rare clear fall days. The late afternoon sun made her hair appear very red. Also, I liked how the hair partly hid her face, making the features easier to tackle. I was reminded of album cover art.

It became her suprise Christmas gift that year.