She's gorgeous. The picture is of excellent quality. What on earth was my problem? I can certainly make the excuses that I had many other things going on in my life during those two years. That wouldn't be a lie, but it would still be an excuse. Being a wife and mother, my responsibilities at the gym, trying to better myself as a coach and athlete, and a very fuzzy puppy I brought into our home for service dog training certainly take up the majority of my time. I also had a few commissioned pieces come through that were bumped to the front of the line since this one was being done as a gift. There was also this one time, at band camp...the time I had to start completely over because while Captain Awesome knows better than to touch things that are on my easel (learned THAT the hard way), one of his friends did not (learned THAT the hard way, too). But even with all those things it shouldn't have taken me nearly that long to finish.
Somewhere along the line I realized why I was putting off finishing the piece. The little sweet pea in the picture above has a beautiful older sister. I created a portrait of the big sister, too, using a close-up of that peanut when she wasn't much older than Sweet Pea. Peanut was wearing a black shirt in her picture and the background was black. I lightened up the background of Peanut's portrait in order to keep the piece from looking like a hand and head floating in space. Part of me wanted Sweet Pea's background to match Peanut's background. The two might be hung in the same vicinity in the home, after all. The problem was, I had no way of knowing the exact combination of colors I used for Peanut's background. Many many layers usually go into a portrait that is painted in pastel. Never mind the fact that I finished Peanut's portrait over seven years ago. I remember I used some colors that I thought would bring out her eyes, and that pink might have also been involved. I asked the girls' mom what she wanted me to do for Sweet Pea's background. She gave me carte blanche power to make the decision. That means she was no help whatsoever...none. It's okay. I still love her.
One day I was sitting at my easel and I was looking at the progress of the portrait. I began studying my reference photo and trying to just create a tint of the main background color. That didn't really do anything for me. I added a few other colors. I still didn't like it. Shouldn't the background be similar to Peanut's? Finally I added the dark shadow behind Sweet Pea's head. As I added that shadow, before I could blend it away and lighten it up, I realized that it was that shadow that made Sweet Pea's eyes jump out at you with all the innocence and wonder. That shadow behind her made her skin appear soft and new. I darkened up the whole background and was eventually satisfied with this:
Well there you go. Not only did I grow as an artist, I learned a little something about life when trying to complete the two year journey of Sweet Pea's portrait. Sometimes the very best background for you is the one you're given. I've dealt with some pretty dark things in my life. Lots of them. I get the old "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" adage, but it's more than that. It's not just about being an optimist, or feeling stronger, or enjoying the challenge. Those dark shadows behind you are what make your light shine for the rest of the world to experience. Embrace the shadows and work to emerge from them to the forefront of YOUR portrait. Thanks, Sweet Pea.
