Portraits and birthdays...

This is my husband's and daughter's birthday. When Doug was 40, I painted him in a three piece suit and tie and hung the sample portrait in the board room of our office. In recent years, he hit another milestone, and I suggested we do a more casual portrait. He said,"Yes, but this time paint the real me...the beach bum!" Well, although he grew up on the coast of Carolina, he hasn't lived there permanently in over 50 years! But one day, the light was right, the pose was accidental, and everything fell into place. This is a 40 x 30 oil portrait... I have as a sample in my studio now. Our children said it was "so Dad...in his story-telling pose." The Son of a Fisherman...