Meet The Parents

What was it like the first time you met your in-laws? Were you nervous? Was it memorable? When I was invited to meet my to-be in-laws I was extremely nervous. My now-husband's parents live on the other side of the world! In a culture and a lifestyle that I knew very little about. What would this Egyptian family think of an American girl? Would they accept me? Would they understand my love for their son? Would they appreciate that I'm an artist?

As a graphic designer, I am used to being criticized and rejected. It comes with the territory. Especially since most of my artwork is an attempt at turning someone else's thoughts into a solid reality. But this was a different kind of judgment. Meeting my in-laws was placing the focus of judgment on my personality and character - not my artwork. Not that I have insecurities about who I am - but I was afraid that my Egyptian in-laws would not understand the American Girl Who Demands Being An Artist.

I wanted to make a good impression. Not only that I was kind and loving and open hearted, but also that art was a solid focus in my life. I also wanted to present my in-laws with a gift that they could treasure regardless of language barriers and cultural differences. So, what did I do? I took a photograph of their wedding day and I painted it for them. I got a metal carrying case and lugged this 16x20 oil painting across the Atlantic Ocean, Europe and the Mediterranean Sea and into Egypt.

Here are some progress photos of the portrait. They loved it (and still do)! What do you think? How did I do?

Above is the original photo. It is about 5 inches by 7 inches - very hard to capture the details.

The above image shows the black and white blocking of the basic shapes and the different levels of shadows and highlights.


Here we are starting to see the colors appear. I had to imagine my own colors since the original photo was black and white. I chose blue for the curtain because in Egyptian culture, the color blue wards off evil and represents protection.

Here we have some Zombie faces! All of the detail is done except for their eyes, nose and mouth. Look at me wearing a scarf and hat indoors! Oh Chicago, I really don't miss you when I look at this photo!

The final portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Samman. Not bad for a first attempt with oil paints!