Beatrix Potter- Portrait of an Author/Illustrator, part III

When I start a project, I often have a clear image in my head of what the painting will look like.

But in the case of Beatrix Potter's portrait, it took me several days to figure it out. I had several ideas floating around. I first sketched up Beatrix as a mature lady. Her career had been long established at that point, but somehow it did not feel wright to me. I also sketched her as a young child since her books were meant for children, but this did not feel right as well. I think my challenge was that I was depicting an highly competent artist and I wanted to meet her approval. I went into my daughter's bookcase, pulled out her Beatrix Potter book and re-read her stories, admiring the illustrations as I use to do when my daughter was a toddler.

This is the preliminary sketch I came up with afterwards. I depicted her at the beginning of her career (early 30s,) and include some of her beloved creations in the composition. I would like to believe that this one would meet her approval.