Charcoal Sketches

I recently did these for my friend, Stacy. (Check out her fun blog sometime!) She gave them to her sister who has three beautiful girls! Kids grow so fast and this is a nice way to preserve a special time in life!

Gracy (in progress)

Gracy (in progress)

16 x 20

oil on canvas

I really thought I could finish this one by the end of the weekend but, alas, I am stuck.  I was going for a very simple composition with a background that just makes her face pop off the canvas.  I wanted most of the color to come from her face and hair.  I also wanted the background to have a lot of depth, but not distract from her face.  I thought I could achieve this by layering colors and mixing some different whites, but Mike (my husband) and I both agree it's not working.  So I stared at it tonight while we ate leftover pizza contemplating different background colors.  Grey/blue? A luminous yellow/orange?  Mike suggested maybe changing the color of the blanket. I am stumped.  I guess I'll have to stare at it a little longer and get some input from others.  I would appreciate any comments or suggestions!