That last post was too overexposed. Here is a better idea of how it looks.

Julie,

I think everything looks much better. It's a very nice painting.

I believe I would vote to tone down the highlight on the nose a bit. Just one vote, touch screen, no paper trail here in Florida.

Thanks, Mike. For something that started as a simple exercise, this sure has given me trouble. The highlight does bring the nose forward, but it's a bit much, isn't it?

Julie, this looks promising. I like the light. She looks more three-dimensional. Because the color key has changed, it might be a good idea to post the entire painting, too, so we can see where you are headed, even if you've only worked on the head.

Is the light on her face cool because she is watching TV? That actually might be interesting in terms of the color scheme (i.e. can you convey this to the viewer without showing the TV screen?) But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm just saying that, if the light actually is cool, it could be used in the theme of the portrait, to your advantage. Of course if the light is not as cool as it looks in your photo, forget what I just said. This is not the only solution, obviously, and you may have something else in mind.

P.S. sorry, I didn't see you had posted the whole painting. I think it works and I like the highlight.

Thanks, Alex. I learned from this piece that small pieces are not for me - too tough to get things in their proper place. Currently that highlight is gone again, but I'll probably put a hint of it back. One goal was to try and simulate different distances from the viewer by controlling highlights, edges, strengths of colors. The original plan was to recede the head a bit compared to the body and hands. The highlight on the nose in the post above was a bit too bold to do that. I can't say that my plan was totally successful, but overall I like the results okay.

Dear Julie,

I completely agree - a lovely and restrained color harmony! I particularly enoy seeing your soft approach and the very compelling way you have communicated the color of the light and the way you have varied temperature throughout the skin tones.

Just a thought for the future - you might consider a composition wich doesn't truncate the fingers-. Thanks for posting this lovely piece.-

Thanks, Chris,

Julie, what a lovely painting, the softness of your touch shows through. You should be really proud of this one!

Gosh, this is terrific, Julie! You're really moving onward and upward......

Thanks, Ngaire and Michele. I got to take in Marvin Mattelson's 2 week workshop this past summer, and learned a lot. Glad you see a difference.