Michelle Cote Fontaine Fine Art

This painting is a favorite of mine and is frequently talked about by my family and friends. Because of its sentimental value, its challenging nature, and its importance to my daughter, I knew this should be one of the first paintings I post.

Three years ago, my daughter traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to teach Kindergarten. She lived there for three months, fell in the love with the country and took over 600 photos. This is a painting done based on one of the photos.

I enjoyed bringing the playfulness of the children to life, especially the boy grabbing on to the other boy’s uniform. My daughter always says her favorite part is all of the memories it includes: their joy while running, having too many children on the slide, sitting on the orange tires, and the kids coming inside after recess. It was challenging to create the sense of movement and capture their facial expressions and I spent many hours trying to do them justice. It took me about 24 hours of painting to paint this gift for my daughter, which is now on display in her apartment.

I call this, “Children Playing”