Portrait of a Young Woman and the Story Behind It

Certain people spark my inspiration. Certain faces call to me. And certain souls seem to echo my own. When that happens, it's as if a magnet is drawing me to them. When it's really strong, something in my heart longs to express that in paint or music or writing.

My niece is one of those people. She and I are like peas in a pod - "old souls" who feel deeply. Romantics. We observe and mentally explore the things that we see around us. We both don't like being forced into anything, and we each have a little streak of defiance that is expressed in different ways. We love artsy, offbeat, romantic movies. We're both artists and writers. We're definitely kindred spirits.

There are was a moment in time where I just had to capture that connection, that beauty, in a painting and to create a portrait of her. We were at a family party and she was just glowing with life. I took some photos of her in front of a huge fig tree that has been part of her life since she was a baby. (There is a lovely photo of her as a toddler playing in the flowers under this huge, majestic tree.) So here she was, standing in front of those lovely green leaves, looking stunningly beautiful and full of life - with a hint of wonder about what her future would bring.

It was those photos that I used to create a portrait of her and to capture bits of her personality; her pensiveness, her defiance, her thoughtfulness, and her inner and outer beauty.

She's grown into an incredibly strong and talented woman, and in a few weeks she is getting married to a man that adores her. My heart is singing. My kindred spirit is embarking on a new and special journey - one that will be beautiful and challenging. And I will be here as a friend, an aunt, a "sister" - with the consistency of the huge fig tree. Part of her life for many new "portraits" to come.