Portrait by Philippe de Smedt
 

Oil on canvas 80cm x 120cm

In fact, this is not completely finished. It needs a few retouches, mostly around the right eye and cheek.

Dear Philippe,

Such strong, brooding work, with a lot of energy and intensity. Your style suits your subject very well. You clearly have good drawing skills, and I like the composition very much. How long did it take you to complete this?

Best regards,
Linda

Thank you, Linda.

It took me four sessions of three hours to get to this point.

I will need one more session for finishing touches.

Philippe, this lady has an apparent history and an obvious attitude written (or painted, I guess) all over this piece.

The anatomical structures are perfect, the drapery of fabric well executed in a loose style with strong, compelling, and descriptive lighting, the colors (especially yellows played off the complementary violets) visually satisfying without gawdy provocation.

Your ability to do just enough -- and no more -- really shows here.

Excellent execution.

Philippe,

I am really engaged by this painting, too.

At the risk of being redundant, the rich surface works with everyhting else at play. The composition is beautifully balanced, and the values are well stated.

Please post details of face and hands when you are finished.

Thank you Steven, happy to read all this.

Thank you too, Chris, and I will post details once finished.

You both made my day !!

This is such a painterly work! I too look forward to seeing your closeup details.

Philippe:

I agree with all that has been said. This is an interesting example of your work I think as most of the others I have seen have such strong color swings - usually towards red. Is this a new direction for you?

You might post one of your others too so others can see what I am talking about.

This is really striking and engaging. Great job! :)