The idea and sketch almost 1 year old, I have attempted to finish this illustration a good many times now. I tried monochromatic colors, very contrasty shading. Realistic flesh tones, ambient lighting...I was never content and usually scrapped it before even getting to details. I had almost given up on the picture...what are the odds of ever finishing it after all this time? I even started to develop a growing dislike of the lineart. Then I came across a very simplistic picture in somebody's online gallery. A girl with a light color scheme and almost no contrast. I thought, this looks very nice! Maybe that's the approach I should take, instead of trying to craft a masterpiece. It's neither a profound nor a thought-provoking motif anyway; the coloring style seemed perfect.

It still took about half a day to finish, but it was very relaxing to paint. I was originally going to do a full background, complete with reflective water and all, but I opted for this instead. The white fits in very well with the overall brightness of the picture, and I believe photorealistic water would have clashed with the rest.

The title is not very innovative, but it's better than the previous ones, "Relax" and "Butterfly on Toe."