Roses of Sharon

After about a year of sporadically working on this piece I have finally finished it!!! One of my best friends, Sharon, had asked me to create a painting for her. She wanted it to be about family. When she brought me the canvas I was somewhat intimidated. It was as big as my dining room table! I had never taken on a piece that big so the old inferiority complex kicked in! LOL - I started avoiding it a bit after getting the initial idea. But, this last month I realized I had procrastinated myself into a corner so I started a marathon painting session to finish it.
Looking back I would do a few things differently in its production. I didn't really make a preliminary sketch. I got my idea and started directly on the canvas. If I had a sketch going in with a projector to shine it onto the canvas it would have been a bit easier. I'll do this next time.
The initial idea for the piece was to have a woman representative of Sharon but not exactly like her (per Sharon's request) sitting on the grass. To represent her family I used the bluebirds. The nesting family of birds represent her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. The single bluebird in the nest represents her handicapped son who lives at a group home. The two visible bluebirds flying represent her step-son, Shannon, and her youngest son, Kevin. The last bird flying into the sunlight represents her deceased husband, Mike. The ribbons are representative of their connection even though each is doing it's own thing.
The bushes were originally going to be generic bushes. I had sketched them in but hadn't started painting on them yet when I came across the "rose of sharon" reference. So off to the web to do some research and I modified the bushes to be the Roses of Sharon.
This painting now hangs in her living room. Sharon gave me paint samples she was thinking of  for the room so I tried to incorporate them into this painting.  I finished the sides of the painting with a copper acrylic so it doesn't require a frame. I'm happy to say she loved the painting. The snapshot is close to the actual piece but my colors are a bit brighter. Sharon has been my dear friend for a long time and like my other friend Mike has been with me through a lot of crap these last few years. So I told her she's paid me back for it several times over. Hope you like it!