I loved this abstracting technique. It was refreshing to draw only parts of facial features, leaving all details out. It was so soothing to let my feelings out onto my surface, watching how the colors intermix. It felt so easy. It felt so comfortable. I couldn’t wait to start my next piece. I searched through the old photos again but couldn’t bring myself to do another painting from childhood. So I put the envelope back in my drawer and went into my living room to look for a current photo. My nieces and nephew all dressed in white tops and blue jeans was perfect. From left to right, in order of their ages, I painted their facial features, hairlines and hands, all the while thinking of their differences and how special they were to me. I replayed conversations in my mind, and smiled inside just thinking of their voices. So much about them was coming to the surface. As I painted, I thought of how they interacted and infused their personalities into my work. Painting this way was doing more than I had expected and I was on a roll. Finally, I had a style to work on that would become my first body of work. Finally, I broke through the doubts and distractions that kept me from painting all of these years. This style pulled feelings out of me. This process of dissecting facial features relieved bottled up perceptions. Painting just might become my therapy. Would I be willing to let it take me where I needed to go?