Two Cherubs and an Angel (greeting card)

Two Cherubs and an Angel | 7”x 5” | Greeting Card
 
I was commissioned to do this painting with three young cousins as my subjects. They were darling and very cooperative models.
 
As reference material I borrowed freely from Raphael’s, The Two Cherubs, as they have come to be called. Raphael’s iconic cherubs are actually part of the masterful painting titled Sistine Madonna, now over 520 years old.
 
As with Raphael’s cherubs, my three little darlings have the upward gaze and distracted demeano r. I also mimicked the two cherub’s wings and the cloudy sky background. For my angel I came up with new, yet harmoniously styled, wings and crowned her with a simple halo.
 
Perhaps my angel and all four cherubs may leave us hoping there is more fun to be had in heaven than their expressions suggest. Still, they can whisk us nostalgically back to our own childhood innocence, an ever pleasant place to visit.
 
"You should have the Art you Love."