Show Me Your Teeth

People are starting to send in their photos for my Dia de Los Muertos portrait project and it’s very exciting. I love to see which pictures people choose.

When people first asked me what kind of images work best I immediately answered, “straight-on, not smiling” but with each new photo that a client sends, I’m thinking outside my comfort zone. I’ve received some profile shots, 3/4 shots, smiling, non-smiling, silly faces and even a dog. I can’t wait to paint them all.

This painting proves that you can make a Dia de Los Muertos portrait work with a smiling face. It now lives in Oklahoma with the subject, who has the same last name as me but is not related. I think.

Some of my favorite people are from Oklahoma.