Portrait 11
Description
Alfie and Maia climbing on the veranda posts of my parents’ wooden garden house. In the harmonious minutes before squabbling began, they played together, pausing for a brief second while Alfie rested his cheek on Maia´s head.
I wanted to paint this moment so that I could dwell on Maia’s excitement at clinging on to the horizontal bar without slipping, and the love Alfie is showing his sister by laying his head on her hair.
Maia’s eyes were somewhat glazed by her concentration so she looks a little odd, perhaps it does indeed work better as a memory than a painting.
It gave me the opportunity to savour and learn from their delight, and since I attempted it twice, these few seconds were extended into two hours. Hours worth spent, even if the result was less than I had hoped for.