Back at Christmas, Marianne Mosko asked me to meet her and her young daughter at the ice skating rink here in Westlake. Her daughter is an accomplished ice skater and we wanted to make an image that would be an amazing work of art for their home. I loved the color and the lights - it made the experience just magical. I'm continually thankful that I have such a great life, creating the kind of portraits I love, with enthusiastic people who come back to the studio again and again through the years.

I love family portraiture. In every family I've ever worked with,
I've found that each person is completely unique, yet they all belong
together. It’s fun for me to help everyone feel confident, relaxed
and happy. In this portrait of Chris and Ann Moore and their four
children, I posed them a little further apart. Although their twin
daughters are just 15 years old, each of them is already beginning to
find their own unique life path. We had such a great time creating
their portraits at their beautiful home in Laguna Niguel, and I know
that the family will enjoy them for many years to come.

When I was at the home of Scott and Darla McCutcheon in San Clemente recently, I also did some camera studies of their 8 year old daughter Hanna.

Hanna was so at ease during the session that I knew a painting would be beautiful, even while I was capturing the initial images with her. I was so pleased with the final painting that we used it as a sample for the annual auction at St. Anne's School in Laguna Niguel, where Hanna attends.

More and more clients have been commissioning us for paintings. What a privilege it is to create them. And we are having a special sale on Children's paintings in January!