A very quick study

It was late Christmas night.  My wife and I were exhausted from the days festivities and after putting the kids to bed Helen passed out.  I could have easily joined her but I wanted to make a painting of our red lamp illuminating her.  These moments late in the evening are excellent times to paint because the mood is a calm and contemplative but mustering up the energy is difficult.  Once you get painting, you get a spark of
creative flurry.

This is 5 x 7 acrylic on panel study, I found several problems although it is successful in capturing the mood.  The composition could be stronger. Perhaps the the  head in a stronger diagonal relative to the lamp and better illumination with the values of light.  Also if you divide this painting in half you have two paintings that could probably stand on their own. (below)

Go figure.  Working out the design before going into painting with thumbnails is a great idea.