100 OIL PORTRAITS IN 100 DAYS - Lauren, 63/100, © Carol Nelson Fine Art

Day 63

Another sweet face! This photo appealed to me of course because of the lighting. I guess I just like to make my life difficult. It's a fine line between making it look like sunlight streaming on her face and warpaint! I'm not sure if I succeeded totally on this one. One way to paint this would have been to paint the face then add the sun stripes afterward on top - maybe I should have done it that way.
Instead I painted the face leaving the sun stripes unpainted until I mixed the proper color and then painted them in. For purchase information on this portrait, please see my website, or email me at carolnelsonfineart@comcast.net.

Question for my readers: Why is it that people prefer a painted portrait over a photograph? The camera is much more accurate. Some say I captured the spirit of the person, but I don't personally know most of my portrait subjects, and I am working from a photograph, not real life.
I do study the photograph VERY carefully, but still, it is only one image of that person.
I'm curious to hear your responses to this question.