This is my toughest client so far, my daughter Tanja. If we lived in a Star Wars universe, I would say, “The Force is strong in this one.” Headstrong, fiercely independent, unusually intelligent, and unafraid of new experiences (today she asked if she could dye her hair purple, and demanded an explanation for why I said no), this is the kind of girl I would like to have as a best friend if I were twelve years old. Right now though, I am not her friend, I’m her annoying mother.

This portrait was started on 9 January and finished on 14 February 2021.