New Painting – Portrait of my grandmother

by ninahuangstudio

After doing about a dozen commissioned paintings in the last couple of months, I really wanted to do a painting just for me. I have wanted to paint my grandmother in her youth for a couple of years now, and I finally felt ready to take on this project.

I found an old photograph of my grandma (see below) during my last visit with the family. I think my grandma is in her 30s in this photograph, and she already had 4 children at this point (!!). I decided to paint her by the West Lake in Hangzhou, which is where she grew up and remains her favorite spot in the world. I will eventually gift this painting to my grandmother, who has always loved the arts, and my paintings.

This acrylics painting is on a 20X30 inches canvas board. Doing a portrait of my grandmother is in many ways like doing a self-portrait. For one, we look alike. We are from the same family, we share the same history; and without her, I would not be around. But compared to my grandmother, I have so much more freedom, so many more choices. She used to tell me, “don’t forget that the most important thing you can have as a woman is your economic independence. That way, you can leave a bad marriage, you can decide what you want to do with your life.”

I kept the colors of the background soft and simply, because I wanted the necklace and dress on her to stand out. I actually have no idea what the original colors are, but I wanted very vibrant colors for her. I am glad to have this piece for my private collection. Now I turn my attention to four new dog paintings that I am preparing for a canine art show! More to come soon!