I was saddened, recently, by the news of the passing of a friend's mother. She had been ill for quite a long time. I was honored when he asked me to create a virtual portrait for her memorial service. I received a photograph of her taken not long before her passing, on a day when she was especially joyous and lucid.
He wanted to use that particular photograph because it captured the essence of her joyful spirit. He was concerned, however, because her illness was showing in her features; her skin had become pale and her eyes were red-rimmed with dark under-circles.
I painstakingly color-corrected the image to bring back a natural tone to her complexion, and brightened up her weary eyes. I then manually altered every pixel of the photo with the brush and smudge tools in Photoshop to replicate artistic strokes and added several layers of shading to the background and foreground.
His response: "I'm sitting here crying...Delia, the detail is wonderful. I can not say thank you enough, my family is sitting here with me now holding the printed out image with tears, as well. Thank You once again because it is a wonderful image you have created for me and my family."
It was my pleasure to bring your family some peace in your time of need, Andrew.