"The Boys" by Jim Brooks

From the Artist: This is based on one of my favorite pictures my wife took of my sons and me. The digital picture was manipulated, reduced to basic lines in a photo software program, then ran through a laser printer onto some paper for acrylic paints. I then used ink to darken some of the lines, then erased the entire page of any lingering laser toner (I discovered earlier that laser toner is not waterproof!). The acrylic paint was applied rather thinly.

I enjoyed thinking of what mediums to combine and how to do it. I found it interesting to try something new and "outside of the box." As for the picture itself, well, it has a "paint by numbers" feel to it that I do not especially like. But doing this brought back many happy memories as I thought about the day the picture was taken!

From the Painting Guide: The composition with two of the figures facing something unseen to the left and one looking at the viewer is compelling. As a viewer I'm immediately engaged with the figure looking at me, and then I'm pulled in further by wondering what the other two figures were looking at.

If it were my painting, I'd crop the right-hand side a little so the green shirt goes off the edge to eliminate the triangle of background, which is a bit of a distraction. Hold up a hand to crop it off and see what you think.