A Mother's Masterpiece

by Miriam Schulman May 08, 2014

Watercolor Portraits by Miriam Schulman @schulmanArt


I always start my watercolor portraits with a basic line drawing. You can learn my magic tricks for capturing an accurate likeness in Watercolor Secrets for portraits.

A mother's greatest masterpiece are her children

Whenever I complain about not having enough time to work on my art business because I've spent the whole afternoon ferrying my kids around or simply standing over my son while he gets his homework done, my husband reminds me that my greatest masterpiece are my children. This is something I remind myself when I compare my self to daily bloggers that they can do it all because they may not have it all... If I talk honestly with myself I know that I rather not have those five extra hours in the day if it meant not having my children.

Just in life, a great painting needs a strong foundation.

Taking a break from Tiger Mother Responsibilities

{However, I also remind my husband that this Sunday is Mother's Day. I actually begin on Saturday and call it "Mother's Day Weekend" This means I do not have to get up early on Saturday to watch my son's wrestling meet and I have already forewarned my husband that is will be his job on Sunday to make sure my son gets all his science homework done. I am taking a break from my Tiger Mother responsibilities.}

watercolor techniques for portraits by schulmanart

To add balance and harmony, you need to work on all parts of
the painting at the same time. If you finish one part of the
portrait before the others you will have an imbalance. Just in
life you need to work on all parts of your life for harmony.

Mom, you are the MVP

However, I know my son appreciates me. He took the time to show me a video of Kevin Durant who accepted the 2014 most valuable player (MVP) award for basketball and acknowledged his mother in a teary speech where he thanked her for providing and sacrificing for him and ended the speech by calling his mom the "real MVP." We are not all equally lucky to have children, but all of us have a mother. Don't forget all the thankless tasks your mom has had to do for you to get you where you are today. {So yes mom, I appreciate you too}

Creating a portrait of your children, an artist's greatest joy.

I love painting children, but especially my own children. I admire the art of Mary Cassatt but also felt sorry for her as she had no children of her own. I am so fortunate to be able to capture my own children with my art. I am teaching all my tricks for painting portraits in my online class, if you would like to learn too. In addition to sharing techniques for painting portraits, I share all my knowledge for taking the photos and also accepting watercolor portraits on commission. Join me in the online class so you can learn too! {Join the class HERE} The demonstrations shown on the left are pictures of my own teenage daughter. There are over exclusive twenty video lessons in this online class waiting for you to unlock your potential.

how to paint people with watercolor by schulmanart

I put the finishing touches on my portrait. You will learn
finishing techniques like adding glints to the eyes and lips.
Usually I wait a few days and then make additional changes.
Again, this is like in life where you need distance to gain
perspective.