perseverance pays

When I first started making art in my childhood and in my teens, I would start and then complete pieces in the same day.  But as I got older I found that sometimes with certain ones you have to live with them for a while to let them evolve. 

This piece called "bird spirit" I started prior to 2009 (prior to CRNA school), I thought I finished in 2012, but in fact I later decided this month to sand the face off and print the original cyanotype face.  I'm so glad I did.  Over the years this piece has evolved so much and now I am FINALLY happy with it.  I got my husband's seal of approval too, which I have to say is very important.  He came to me on his own and told me he had noticed I redid the face and loves it.  He told me it was "done." And not to do anything else to it.  I agree.

Here the piece is when I thought I was finished:

Here the piece is at an even earlier stage:

Here is me working on it this month (March 2013), sanded the face off, and then re-printed the cyanotype face onto the wood:

Here is the finished image, now just waiting to frame this piece.  The face is very subtle, but it emanates a "ghost" presence which is exactly what I had hoped for...

Here are two close ups: