Dante in Progress
 

Underpainting, Phase I

28" x 22" oil on linen.

Comments are the best gifts!

Hi Jeanine,

This looks like a good beginning. I like the expression on his face.

At this point his shirt is dominating the painting; when I squint that's about all I notice. The lighting source appears diagonal to our right and above on his face, but it appears as though his head is casting a shadow to our right onto the background. Also, the lighting appears more sideways on his shirt, and does not have a clear direction on his pants and the chair.

The viewer may need more help in reading the position and foreshortening of his left leg and arm (on our right).

His right arm (on our left) seems a bit too stiff and straight to me, and undifferentiated from shoulder to wrist. You might want to relax his elbow a little, so you can make a change between his upper arm and forearm.