Long white dress

[Mary Reilly]

I've had an opportunity to paint little girls in velvet dresses a few times. Once the dress was dark burgundy velvet and the little girl had dark brown, almost black hair. That combination was great. This past year I had to paint a fair-skin blond in a dress that had a dark blue velvet top and a lime green/bright pink plaid skirt. I personally did not like the dress at all and had to fight having the dress upstage the face. The portrait turned out great and the parents were thrilled. However, I much prefer the long white dress on little girls.

I love painting blue jeans on kids too!

[Rebecca Willoughby]

I for one think that Strasburg should start paying me commission! I carry a copy of their catalog in my van. I don't know if they have stores all over the US or just in the south. Having two little girls myself, I spend lots of money there. My husband has banned me from buying anything else there until after Christmas. Good thing I have already bought the Christmas dresses.

Long white dresses are perfect for indoor formal portraits as well as outside beach pictures. (See my post in the reference photo section on this forum.) They are also timeless. I have pictures of my grandmother at age four wearing a slip dress that my great grandmother stitched by hand out of flour sacks. It was taken in 1921. Hopefully 81 years from now my great grandchildren will treasure the drawings and paintings of my daughters as much as I treasure this one of my grandmother.

Rebecca