The radiant energy of this pretty little girl is framed by the freedom of her blonde hair strands. Tatum generally works with oils, however this portrait was prepared with pastels. Pastels are often better for portraits of children. The bright colors bring out the child's joy and innocence. Pastel is layered to achieve color variations. The layers are applied from dark to light in contrast to watercolors where the pigment is applied from light to dark. Oil is the more verstile medium in that layers may be applied in any order.
The brightness of the eye draws the viewers attention to pasivity of the child. One characteristic of pastels is the visible support where it is not completely covered. This lends a brightness to the blonde hair which circles the eyes.