This latest painting was both a commissioned piece as well as being a bit of an experiment for me.
I had worked with Molly previously for one of my Big Heads portrait paintings. That painting was a personal success for me, and a project I very much enjoyed. Molly’s parents were fond of the painting as well, and were interested in purchasing it, provided I might make some alterations to the image (most notably painting out the Batman comic). I was happy with the painting the way it was, but offered a compromise: I would paint Molly a second time, this time crafting the painting more towards their sensibilities.

Molly and I had a photoshoot during the summer of 2012 and I had every intention of diving into the painting. Unfortunately, my personal life took a bit of a detour and I ended up taking a hiatus of close to a year from painting. By the time I got back into the mindset to paint, I was curious how I might handle the piece. I probably overthought it too much, to be honest. The photoshoot had been extremely fun, and the reference photos were all very inspiring to look at again.

In the end, I wanted to take a quieter, softer, sweeter approach with this painting. I wanted something Molly’s parents would thoroughly enjoy and be proud of. Though this piece doesn’t have my usual quirkiness to it, I feel there’s still so much of “me” included here and there. And ultimately I am proud that her parents have this piece on display in their home.

My many thanks to Molly and her family for sharing this opportunity with me.

Molly II
Acrylic on Canvas
16 x 20 inches
Painted 2013 by Matt Cauley

Below are some photos of the painting in development to showcase the progress: