Holding On To Hope

I painted this with Oil on top of an Acrylic underpainting on Canvas Board, using scrapers to create the illusion of soft edges. This allows the oils to be moved around while returning to the permanent underpainting if desired.
I took this photo in Nassau years ago, which captured my heart, as I wondered what lied ahead for this girls life, and I knew someday I would paint it. I painted her head in the darkness symbolizing her dark circumstances but I added the sunlit flower in her hand to describe my title "Holding On To Hope".