Victoria has made many alterations to the original, including changing a dog into a kitten and creating a much sweeter expression on the girl's face. The lighter colors were used for the highlights, which were blended into the medium tones. The darker values were used for the shadows. The same technique used for shading the face was used in the clothing. Darker colors form the shadows and lighter colors are the highlights.
Medium tones fill in the rest of the area.
The soft, subtle shading enhances the imagery in the hooking. Expressionistic Portraits Nel Rand, of Manning, Oregon, is an art therapist, painter, and rug hooker. She has been hooking since 1992, when she felt the need to slow down the painting process. She enjoys the sensuous nature and textural effects of wool fabric. In most cases her paintings serve as models for the hooked pieces, but sometimes she draws directly on the backing and the hookings inspire paintings.