Do you see what I don't see

[Patricia Joyce]

I am almost ready to call this one finished. It is a posthumous dog commission and I was sent a very little 4 x 6 color photo so you can imagine the struggle I had with flatness. I also wanted to work in charcoal because of her jacket which is one of those fuzzy things. So I thought the charcoal would help with that effect. My second challenge was that she was holding a HUGE ugly leash handle and I wanted it to look like she was hugging her dog. The leash was draped all over the dog, so I worked to take it out and insert a hand!! I don't know, I feel I have overworked everything.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. This is a small piece, the client did not want it any larger that what would fit in an 8 x 10" frame for her daughter's desk.

Thanks for looking
Patty