5"x 7" acrylic on hardboard I have had this image for sometime now. I always knew I’d paint the portraits, but I never really saw their real energy until recently when I took another look at these to young ladies. They were standing in line waiting for their turn in the game at a birthday party. I cropped the image considerably and focused on what I thought was really important. To quote a friend, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.” When I was a little girl my mother would adorn my hair with bows, ball ties, and rubber bands just like these two cutie pies. As a painter I am fascinated with the way the light filters through the transparent plastic balls I guess I was drawn to the color contrast of the little girl and the white dress she wore as well. The background was a challenge. I used several color options before I settled with green even at one point deciding that I should paint the background in full detail before I remembered I was focusing in on what was important. ...