It was painted a number of years after the birth, around 1999 or 2000

I chose to represent my husband and our son because of the love I felt for both of them. This was our first and only time we experienced having a newborn. I chose to represent this close-up image to capture the adoring, loving look of my husband as he gazed down in wonder at our two-day-old son. My painting style tends to be bright and expressive. I added the green background as a personal and subjective choice.

Painting the picture helped enhance and solidify the knowledge of our love for our son in spite of the difficult labor and difficulties of caring for a colicky newborn. It documented a moment of peace and a tremendous turning point in our lives.