This is a personal illustration I made of my grandma, who died in July 2022. She was an absolutely remarkable woman and her influence on my life is hard to put into words, so I tried putting it in art instead.
This piece is based on a photo in which she's holding a wolf dog puppy. She kept many wolf dogs throughout her life and wolves were her favorite animal.
In addition, all the flowers in the piece are native plants to Delaware, where she lived. She was a lifelong advocate for the environment and an avid native plant gardener. The flowers I referenced include the black-eyed susan, common sunflower, and white yarrow.
In addition, here are some pieces from my inspiration folder that I referenced -- I was looking for portrait-style references with bold colors, geometric shapes complemented by confident linework, and a mix of painterly and graphic styles.
(From left to right: Alberto Mielgo, Eleanor Davis, Rebecca Turbee, Lois Van Baarle, Maruti Bitamin)
Here's the sketch, along with a color test.
