High Five-and-a-Half - Part 2

So this afternoon as I was leaving a parking lot I heard a noise. A buzzing noise. Then I saw something fly by my face. Something big. I pulled over and jumped out of my car. Then I saw it. It was the biggest, goldenest, fuzziest bee I've ever seen. And it looked like it had absolutely no intention of leaving my car. I'm not afraid of bugs as a rule, but I am afraid of being stung. So after a few "hmmmmmm"s and a quick post about it on Facebook (typing that makes me feel quite dorky), I reached in and opened all of the windows. The HUGE fuzzy bee? Nope. No interest in going anywhere. I very bravely got in the back seat...the bee had taken up residence on the headrest of the front passenger seat...rifled through the pouch behind my seat to see if there was anything I could use, and found a brand spankin' new bulk pack of gum. I quit chewing gum a month ago so this was quite the surprise. I used the pack to gently maneuver the bee onto a piece of paper and then shook the paper out the window. And as I drove away bidding my fuzzy friend adios, I opened a pack of gum and relished in the sweet delicious mint I felt I had totally earned.

Now to something much less huge and fuzzy. I finished my cousins painting. Here's the finished piece and below it are a number of stages leading up to it. A rather large number. I kept changing my mind about different things...and then there were a few goof-ups, too, of course.

"High Five-and-a-Half"

I added stripes to their shirts.

I decided to redo a number of shoes and a leg.
I moved the blue shirted boy closer to the purple shirted boy
I also had the child on the left put his arm around his cousin.

I reworked the shoes/feet and started
adding some background details. I
made the child on the left facing the same
way as everyone else. I also moved the child
on the right closer to his cousin.

I added a flowering tree and worked more on the background.
I also redid the blue shirted boy's neck.

I added more sky and clouds and had the child on the
right keep his right arm down.

I changed the child on the left's shoes so he was more in
line with the others.

I added details like watches and bracelets and
highlights in their hair. I also added some background
features on the right.

Click here to view my gallery.  Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

I'd love for you to share my art and blog with the links below.  Thanks!