Creating something Beautiful for a Friend

A couple days ago I decided to paint a picture for my friend who is having a birthday.  I got the idea from Modern Bird Studios.  I felt really excited about it.  And after, conversing a little with her husband, we decided on this picture:

 

I cropped and then contrasted the picture 7 or 8 times until it was down to a very raw black and white photo:

I decided it should be acrylic instead of my usual preference, oil, because I was short on time and couldn't wait the 3-5 days it takes for oils to dry. 

The creative process was incredibly enjoyable.   I can't quite explain the joy and peace I felt as I created something so beautiful.  The attention to the details of drawing the picture first satisfied my logical, structured side, while the abstraction of the original picture and modern final product satisfied my artistic side. It sounds corny and dramatic, but it felt like I was meant to create this painting and perhaps others like it. What's more than that, the subject matter (the little girl) is very sensitive to me. In fact, I nearly cried giving her the painting, and am about to cry now just thinking about it.  The little girl is about to embark on a very trying time...

Anyway, here is the finished product.  The first picture is closer to the right color background (it's sort of a creamy, light tan color). And the second picture captured the "midnight blue" darker tone.