Half Her Heart's Duet

There's so much I could say about this piece. I'm really satisfied by it. I feel like in the end there's a rich story that comes through, and makes me want to see more of what's beyond the fence.

My husband was responsible for some of the symbolism, like the burning sheet music, and the shape of the instrument - he saw what I was working on at the start when it was just a lass and an amorphous instrument, and I was kinda stuck on where it was going and asking around for ideas. He sent me an excited email detailing the life and times of our red-haired protagonist, and some of the imagery really stood out for me - "...she's an only child, no older brother to take over the farm when her dad dies, or to keep the family name. She's been trying to adapt for so long, and in this moment she's wandered off to have a moment to herself, in her nice dress instead of her daily farm clothes." I changed some things around, then he'd make new suggestions, and in terms of idea exchange it was a really fun process.

Technically I think this one is worth a look, too. I took much longer to consider certain elements than I normally do, and I switched up references a couple times. For example, the hands I originally had drawn in looked too stiff to be holding an instrument properly, so I had to change that. I'm really trying to get better about making decisions like that that benefit the final image, especially because when you work with photo references there tends to be an instinct to let the photo dictate what ends up in the final piece.

Enjoy!