This one will be the best painting I’ve ever done, I hope! The background is fully covered, and the girls have the base layer.  Because I am approaching it with the idea that it must be the best painting yet, I am reluctant to declare any part of it “finished” until I am satisfied that I cannot make it any better.  Before I had any skill, I could paint on a canvas forever and after a certain amount of work, no visible improvement would have occurred! That can still happen, but that point is further down the Path Of Looking Good. As a result, I expect this painting to take a great deal of time. The customer is giving me no deadline, so this is an ideal commission! (She also paid in full in advance, which my Dad taught me isn’t always a good thing! Actually, he let me learn that the hard way. . . )