Terri and Steve Irwin's Portrait and how it came to be. Why I want to do this!

Last year I went to Australia and crossed off one of my "bucket list" items and that was to visit the Australian Zoo.  I went on their grand adventure there where I spent the day with a tour guide, was driven around in a golf cart, fed all day, saw the crock show from special seats, and petted elephants, a giant turtle who I believe was over 200 years old, fed an echidna, held a koala, touched a snake (I hated that), petted a dingo, stood next to a rhino, and walked a Bengal Tiger among other things!  (I have pictures to prove it all.)

Well, the experience really affected me to say the least, it was fun beyond compare and imagination.  During the tour, I was shown all the gifts people sent from all over the world after Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" passed away.  So many portraits it wasn't funny.  On the shirts Steve used to wear, employees wrote their condolences saying such things as "We will miss you Steve", "Enjoy the crocs in Heaven", and so on, just very, very touching tributes.  But I looked at my husband and said, "I need to do a REAL portrait for them.  Even the tour guide who knew Steve personally told us, "None of them really captured him, nor his spirit."  So I decided I would send one to the Australian Zoo hoping Steve's widow would like it.

I wanted to really get into the mood to do this portrait, and I studied the pictures real close, but I also read her book called, "My Steve".  What a powerful, loving story of their lives.  All the struggles they had, all the joys, when their kids were conceived, the special bond they shared but most of all, the love they had for one another.  She was so open to share her personal thoughts from the day he died, where she was, how the kids reacted, and how she coped.  Such a fabulous book.

So here is the beginning of the portrait I plan to do for Terri Irwin.  Wonderfully, I have a neighbor who is Australian who is visiting his native land at the end of this month, so he said he will personally deliver it to them.  I am so blessed.

But do you think I could find a decent picture of the two of them together?  Ha!  No.  But I'm an artist, so I'm creating one.

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Here is the cover of the book.  

But I personally don't like her angle of her face and didn't think this was the most flattering picture.

So I chose a picture of Terri Irwin from a calendar I purchased in the gift shop.

This also gave me a real good idea of her complexion color!

I put the two together and voila, it's how I'm creating their portrait!

Here is a close up of the start of the portrait.  Lots of work to do, this is just the preliminary.  

It was hard enough to get them the correct sizes.  

I also have a shirt from the Australian Zoo, so I know I will capture the Khaki color perfectly.    

Wish me luck on this one...it's probably the toughest portrait I've even done!!!  

And you artist's friends of mine, I will be emailing you with help when I need it!