This is probably my favorite picture of my daughter, Meredith, from when she was little. She was about 3 years old in this photo, enjoying a summer day on Grampa and Gramma's farm. Vibrant colors paired with the simple sweetness of this child without a worry in the world -- the potential for a fantastic canvas piece was irresistible!
The first job was to digitize and crop:
![](https://i.etsystatic.com/isbi/51fdbc/5598332603/isbi_fullxfull.5598332603_rcnn5tnl.jpg?version=0)
Then, bring an impressionist flavor to the piece.
![](https://i.etsystatic.com/isbi/83172c/5550216734/isbi_fullxfull.5550216734_j1kub5fn.jpg?version=0)
The colors muted a little bit in that step, so I went back and found those richer, deeper colors and pulled them out over the course of a couple of different steps. First from the surface with color adjustments . . .
![](https://i.etsystatic.com/isbi/22a161/5550218822/isbi_fullxfull.5550218822_991oatxp.jpg?version=0)
. . . from behind the image with a paper filter application. And there it was! Perfect colors and feels from that day. I can almost smell the flowers, the soil and the grasses. I can hear her little voice.
![](https://i.etsystatic.com/isbi/aba0e9/5598338289/isbi_fullxfull.5598338289_3eckb6ee.jpg?version=0)
This little one is 19 now and I am so proud of the young woman she has become. I love her spirit and her fire, her humor and her heart. And whenever I want to, I can sneak back in time with just a glance at this piece, to remember where both she and I began.
![](https://i.etsystatic.com/isbi/eea3eb/5550221112/isbi_fullxfull.5550221112_f28b9sfd.jpg?version=0)