Winter Self-Portrait

Painted en plein air, this portrait was painted from a mirror, leaned against a spruce out in the woods in Alaska. It took several weeks to complete. My dog, Benny (bottom left), was painted from memory, as he passed away around the same time that this painting was created. The tree behind me was a recent victim of the spruce bark beetle- though this can have dire consequences on the forest, in this case, it opened up the canopy allowing for the warm winter light to filter in.