children have such expressive faces. When I see one like this, the spirit shines through and I am drawn to it. One like this, which says so much by just a look, interrupt the previous works even though I won’t abandon them for long. It seems to me that when I am pulled to another painting in an unexpected way, that the painting of it is easier. It flows without effort. I don’t want to suggest you do the same. It is a good habit to develop to strive to finish a work before moving on to the next, or else we will end up with a lot of unfinished works. I guess I am admitting to you that my brain works best and happiest when There are several projects wanting my attention. It was the same when I was raising my girls. Adding another new baby didn’t cause mayhem, it seemed to bring purpose and focus to the entire family. It was the same when we took on AFS (foreign exchange students) into our home for a year each. They became true family members and we all focused on them. This painting is a true joy. I can’t wait to show it. I used a different base coat and built the entire painting with the same colors. If you follow my blog, you know I cover the primed linen with a mixture of Burnt umber and French ultramarine blue, which gives a greyed down brow in a mid range value. This time I decided to go with raw umber mixed with Terra verte. I expected a similar value range but I could never reach the mid value. I am intrigued and pleased with the soft pallet. The title of this piece must absolutely be ‘LOOK, MOM!’ Now to get some painting done! Shalom, Diana