"Ashley in Progress" - finished!

Well , it's finally finished! Although Ash is a dark blonde, I made her hair a little darker in keeping with the pensive mood of the piece, and to focus attention on her beautiful eyes. She's 10 going on 100, full of energy - so a quiet moment is fairly rare, according to her mom.

As for the title - she's definitely a work in progress :-)

Boy, I must say using a brush for fine shading and laying down broad swaths of pigment is addicting. One has to keep in mind that a picture that is all 'soft' is boring and unreal - so her eyes, and certain edges had to be 'sharpened' or 'hardened' to make things a little more interesting.

I think my brain is now ready for some more abstraction, so I'm putting away my pencils for a little while, and letting colours, moods and shapes percolate through. I wonder what I'll find?

Ciao for now!