Asian Daughter

My Woodstock partner, Lori, adopted this young lady from China. Lori was very brave to adopt as a single mother. Lori died recently so this is my tribute to her. Lori is the 3rd of my childhood friends who died of cancer.

Due to our friends in Facebook, she and I reconnected after years of having drifted apart. For me, it freshened my memory of things that only had me, myself and I to remember. Reconnecting with my childhood friends reminded me that no matter how far we’ve drifted, we have a entrenched common memory. That quality of freshening up the old cobwebs of the past added variety to the still-life shots of the past.

This painting is virtual. I touched no pigment. Lori sent it to me. Lori and I were ‘mood’ sisters. We were artists together and we saw feelings. So when she sent me the photo of her daughter who was a teenager at the time, I uploaded it to my paint program.

I like using a variety of virtual paint programs. My favorite is Artrage 2.5. It’s simple and has enormous variety. Later Artrages are also great but I know the 2.5 version. Another virtual paint program I use is PaintX. It’s far more complex and when I am not focused on the steps and dingbats, I get lost and mess everything up.

This virtual painting is mostly Artrage 2.5. The photo does not ‘convert’ to a painting as some features allow in Adobe Photoshops. This one is where I have to do the handwork myself. Essentially, the best use of this type of portrait painting is when I’m in a hurry because it sets up all the drawing structure through the photograph. After that, the usual choices in the creative process are in play. Color choices are mine. Swashing with the virtual brush is mine. But the daughter is Lori’s.

“See ya in the Woodstock in the Sky”.