"Nurture" Work in Progress Sketch + Thumbnails

Hi everyone, 

Here are some pictures of my progress so far with the 2nd piece in my 5 painting series : "Nurture". 

The sketch on the left above was where the concept originated. It was a quick drawing in a now completed sketchbook, and never quite left my mind as an idea I would like to explore further. 

I chose it to be another painting in this small series, and drew up a few thumbnails, which you can see on the right above. 

In those thumbnails, I tried out a few different compositions : full body, torso only, and 2 bust only. 

The second thumbnail (top right) was where I gravitated at first, and was the one I chose to expand into a more detailed sketch initially, as you can see in the image below. 

I love the dynamism that the slightly above view lends to the composition, and the energy projected by the character's expression and head tilted upwards. 

However, as I compared the original idea sketch and this new drawing, I felt more connected to the calm and peacefulness of the initial doodle.
So in order to push that a little further and see how I felt, I created a 3rd sketch that stayed in line with the more contemplative nature of my older drawing.

Ultimately, I have decided to go for this last composition for my final painting.
I even changed the title idea from "Yearning" to "Nurture". 

I still need to brainstorm how I want the branches to look, as I am not convinced by their read colour and bare appearance, and would like more life to surround them, and I am still pondering the background, but I think I am nearing the painting stage with this one!

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I have 3 more paintings on the drawing board, which are all nearing final compositions, so I will have a whole lot more to show you soon. 

I hope you are all well!

Speak soon,
M <3