I don’t know about anyone else, but sometimes I start a painting or pastel and then I just stop because I have other deadlines for example school or my current BFA show coming up. Well, I started a portrait of my sister two years ago. After doing the sketch and the initial layer of paint, I put it aside. The black and white underpainting kept giving me the stink eye every time I went in and out of the garage. It was supposed to be her birthday present, and I felt terrible that I let it languish so long. I wondered why I did not attach more value to completing the work. This summer I decided to experiment with pastels, and I applied them on top of the oil. It took a lot of layers, and I still could have put more color on that canvas, but I really needed to finish it before my mother's October birthday. My mom lives with my sister, so it was also going to my sister. "Two birds with one stone." The value that I placed on the work increased the closer my mom' s birthday drew near. The frame was heavy, and the shipping cost was outrageous, but I needed to complete this task because I knew that it was going to be more valuable once my mom received it. That is the thing about the value of art, it is in the eyes of the beholder or the investor who is going to buy it as an investment. For me, I am much happier knowing that this mixed media piece that lived in the garage for almost two years finally has a home in which it is much loved. My sister had a big party and filmed my mother getting the "Girl with the Green Hat." I wish I could have been there because it brought my mom to tears. That is the real value of art.