I love the fresh lushness of this, Alex - there's an interesting juxaposition with what I read to be the wistful look in her eyes.

I love it, Alex, especially the little cool light from the back, it puts her somewhere into a real space.
Ilaria

What fun, Alex! The skintones, background and flowers all work so well together.

Sorry I didn't see these before--they didn't come p on my e-mails so I never checked the thread. Thank you all, Sharon, Linda, Allan, Ilaria, and Julie.

Then, would that all my efforts could get to look like your duds!

Alex, I

Carlos, thank you! I'm not sure really how much time it took. I'm just estimating. If I said more than two hours I might look like a bad teacher, painting when I should have been circulating around the room attending to my students (who are a great bunch, by the way). It might look more finished because I worked on the lower part later.

Very confident work, Alex. I especially like the flowers around the neck of her blouse. Beautifully done!

There is something in the contrast of those cheerful flowers and the melancholic look on her face that is irresistible to me... I keep having to take another look. It is so lovely!