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Cindy,
Everything is so wonderfully conceived and carried through in this portrait. I've been back to look at it several times, and each time I see more. I love the way you've painted the girls--thanks for the closeups!-- the diagonal of the stair and moulding, and the understated simplicity of the architectural features.
What strikes me most forcibly, in its quiet way (it took me a while to see this but it is brilliant) is the black (navy)/white checkerboard you have created. From top to bottom, one sister is dark, light, dark and the other is light, dark, light. They are next to each other, so the "checkerboard" reads horizontally, too. The dark carpet and white wall divide the background into two zones, also. Cleverly, or perhaps instinctively, you massed the light dog in with the white skirt of the younger sister. The total effect is absolutely NOT spotty! I'd love to know how much of it was consciously done and how much simply worked out that way (with you sensing, of course, that it was right).
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