Gabriel

~30cm x 40 cm
oil on board

thanks for looking!

This is a recent commisioned portrait of a sweet young boy. The hand gesture was inspired by Da Vinci's John the Baptist. (in my reference photos he was playing patty cake with his brother, so I winged the hand looking at my own and babyfying it.)

I was going for mystery. I think any sense of mystery was just overwhelmed by common cuteness. A mysterious smiling baby might be beyond me at this point.

My favorite part of this (and the most fun to paint) is his white blond hair.