Whether or not you are an artist, have you ever created something that you pretty much liked, but ... there was just something that was missing? This is my most recent experience.

About a year ago I commemorated the first ballet recital of my granddaughter Chloe by painting six little dancers, all in a row, each in her own little world. The dance instructor had taped a line onto the stage floor to get them organized, and I suspect she was in the wings calling out the steps they were to be doing. As I remember, this particular instruction was something like "Put your right foot forward and tap, tap, tap." The little girl on the far right seemed to be close, the one next to her had the wrong foot, two others were oblivious, and the girls with their arms in the air had already sped way past that part of the choreography and were already into the "Ta Da!" part of the performance. How adorable!

Unfortunately, I was not as pleased with my painting of this event. Loved the little figures, but something was not right. For several months I couldn't see what I needed to do - until last week. To my eye at least, even if the image was accurate, the background was just too dark. I warmed it up and lightened it with a bluish green and I was transported back to that audience, applauding the dance divas of the future.

To see the original painting before tweaking, scroll down to the next entry.