[John Zeissig]

Hello Carolyn,

I think this is a nearly virtuoso performance of painting skills given the utterly dreadful source photo you had to work from. The only technical suggestions I can add to Enzie's and Peter's comments are the following:

1. Soften the sky/sea horizon line to at least the same degree as the sand/sea line.

2. Soften the line of the backside of the hat brim against the sky.

3. The hand on top of the hat crown will surely be clipped by the frame rabbet if it's as close to the top as it appears to be. A little more sky above would have been in order.

It sounds like you have everything working against you on this project; a deadline combined with bad source material selected by the client. Nevertheless your painting looks to me like it improves on the photo in every respect while remaining very faithful to it. Your drawing skills are clearly top-notch. If the client likes the photo he/she's going to love the painting.

The things I like about the photo are the girl, the hat, and the backlit concept. The things not to like are too numerous to mention, as I'm sure you know. But I think the salient problem is her pose. The way her hand is placed on her hat makes it look as though she's trying to keep the hat from being blown off her head by the wind. On the other hand the hat is obviously secured by the neck cord, so that can't be it. Maybe she's trying for a glamour pose? If so, the gesture is way too tentative and fails utterly. The net effect of the ambiguity between these interpretations makes the pose awkward and obscures the girl's character. If you have access to her you might try to get her to pose for you where you have more control. She looks like a good subject; one you could do a great job on with some planning.

Keep up the good work!