My first thought was, “Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, all grown up,” and, as the saying goes, “rode hard and put away wet” when I saw the photo (below) on photographer Earthsworld’s Instagram.
My second thought was “I must paint her!” I contacted Earth (his real name) and he gave me permission to paint from and share his photo. Then, while the painting was in progress I came across the cartoon below on Instagram by artist WadeHate.
It was too perfect, another image of Dorothy all grown up. He was kind enough to give me permission to share this artwork.
Bottom left was original before painting background.
The original photograph had a background I didn’t want so I experimented in Procreate with different backgrounds. I probably should have just left the background white (below).
Also, the limited palette of W&N watercolors notated:
Raw Sienna, Permanent Alizarin, Winsor Blue Green Shade
The deep orange I chose didn’t please me so I tried washing it off. That left an “interesting” peachy color and a paper surface that was not going to respond well to more paint layers. So, peachy pink is how it shall remain.
When I checked my initial sketch I was delighted to see how close I got on my first try, and how few corrections were needed (above). It’s so nice to see progress, whether it’s in drawing or painting or both. This painting also went really well (except the background).
Jana Bouc, Artist 
5 replies on “Dorothy of Oz: All Grown Up?”
I love the peachy pink background! It makes the whole painting cohesive. This is a wonderful portrait. You’re watercolor portraits are so smooth in the skin tone and your likeness is perfect!
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Thank you so much. I really care about getting the smooth skin tone (except for the wrinkles LOL) so I appreciate your comment. Many watercolor portrait painters do splotchy skin and although I do like their work, for my own painting, I strive for smooth transitions.
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I think the background is fine – Kansas heat perhaps.
Lovely portrait!
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I like the idea it’s Kansas heat! 😆
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[…] the 3-color limited palette I used for this painting was the same as the one I used for my painting of Dorothy, even though the two women look nothing alike. It’s a fun challenge to work with only a 3-color […]
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