One more time... (can you tell I like this photo?) 
    

anyhoo, this is an old painting that I 'doctored' a bit... that is, literally NEVER successful, but this time I like it.    Fun to push this in new directions.

Pushing the proverbial envelope.....

     I tried a different approach with this one.   First, I actually used pencil to start to define the shapes, then I tried to be a bit more adventurous with the color.  I don't know of any 'rules' or 'formula' where this is concerned.. I just tried to add some bold color to give it some spunk !  which one do you like better?

Little (6 x 6) Serena

     After all my talk, I actually DID have a finished product.  Here is my student, "Little Serena" because she's on a 6 x 6 canvas board.   She's a very special girl, as is her identical twin, Selena.   They were both in my Art Foundations class at different times.
     I used to do the 'upside down' drawing with my students.  It's from a Picasso drawing of his friend, the composer, Igor Stravinski.  It is one of my favorites, from the Betty Edwards book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and teaches the concept of right brain skills overtaking the stronger left brain in order to tackle the task of drawing.   While painting Serena, I turned her upside down, worked a bit on the shapes and values, and when I turned her back over..... 'voila'  she was captured....

     This is always fun and successful to try if you've never done it !