Christopher at 12 Months: A Portrait in Acrylic

Christopher at 12 Months, acrylic on canvas, 9×12″ by Annie Dash

Many years ago, when my son Christopher was one year old, he was standing by the large window in our living room looking outside. Suddenly, he turned to the chair where I was sitting and the beauty of the light on his face and in his eyes took my breath away. As luck would have it, I had my camera with me and photographed him as a way to capture that moment in his life.

That photo became one of my favorite portraits of him.

Years have passed, and I have recently reconnected with my love of painting portraits. Although it has been many years, this image stood out to me as one that I must paint first — even though portraits of babies are notoriously difficult. This one was no different.

While this portrait was very challenging and at one point while I was painting it, I sincerely thought I might need to start over, I am so grateful that I pushed through and completed it. It was very challenging but I learned a great deal and love the end result. I made some changes in the painting that were not present in the photograph — for example, the shirt color, the band of hard light on the shoulder, etc. The painting is definitely a different look than a photograph but I think painted portraits can be a powerful way to convey the essence of a person. The portrait will live on in our family heritage to preserve the innocence of Christopher as a baby.

I’m thankful for this experience and hope you enjoy both of these portraits.

With love and blessings,

Annie