"Tell me the stories of Jesus" in progress II & III

It's time to get this finished. The submission time period has begun. It runs until Feb 2015. I want to get this finished before I begin any new projects. Especially if there is something I want to complete as a Christmas present. 

I did more details on the fireplace and the shadows of the figures. I am having a hard time going darker on the figures. I feel like the paper is already saturated with paint. I need to look at a few books that I have to see if there are any tips that I can use. Wish me luck.

Okay, so I couldn't put the brush down today. Still has a bit of fine tuning. I may need to let it sit for a while so I don't overwork it. Coming back with a fresh eye should help. I have to admit, I am a fan of taking snap shots to see how it is developing. I hope I won't see the point where I should have stopped but continued and messed it up. Yikes. 

And here is the raw, stream of conscious, UNEDITED artist statement.

As the song "tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear." I couldn't remove the image of our family from my mind to move forward in any other direction.

That in time of need or in question as they find their footing, as their testimony changes from ours to their own. They will recall the moments we talked about. Bore testimony of, tried to teach. That as enos, alma, the sons of helamen. That the words we gave them as their parents they will remember. "The words that my father spoke", "that we didn't doubt, our mothers knew it." That when we look back, we can with no regrets, that we gave them our testimony of the Savior.