Nathalie, my daughter, was 10 years old when I painted this. She and I would often bond through reading the same books, and I took this reference photo while she was lost in “Inkheart”, one of our favorite young adult fantasy books, by  Cornelia Funke (2003).

I loved the pensive, absorbed expression she had and treated the composition with loose, dramatic washes to accentuate the afternoon light striking her face.