Red Barrettes

I Have drawn this before in full color- the work was titled "Kindergarten", and I used my school photo for it. I recently did it again in graphite pencil, and I like this effort much better, even if there are some smudges. I used inferior paper, and you know how that goes. This is actually a practice run for a piece I am going to do for my mother.

There is a back-story, beside this being my school picture.

My mother dressed me in a cute pink sweater for picture day with no barrettes, but when our teacher was getting us prepared for the photos, she combed my hair, which had been a mess from recess, and put the red barrettes in it. The barrettes were in my book bag, probably cast aside on a different day when I had worn a red shirt. My mom, who has a massive dislike for combining pink and red, had no idea they were in my bag and never intended for me to have them on that day. When the pictures were sent out later, she had a fit, and she still talks about it now (I'm 38, folks!).

So I got the idea to make a pencil drawing of this picture and color ONLY the red barrettes (I used GIMP to add red in this one). I figured a little transparent red in the lips would balance it a bit too.

I share a rather impish sense of humor with my family members, so she will actually enjoy the tongue-in-cheek inside joke, and she always proudly displays my artwork, even though I am grown.

Here is the actual school picture:
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And here is the old drawing from my gallery:
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