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Old 01-13-2003, 11:36 PM   #3
Steven Sweeney Steven Sweeney is offline
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Josef,

Looks pretty good so far.

Watch your value shapes, not "even" but "especially" at this early stage. Keep them accurate and well-defined. I'm looking, for example, at the way the form of the nose and the cast shadow from it have changed in the two versions. (I'm thinking that the shadow would narrow as it rose toward the eye, as the bridge of the nose receded.)

You might consider putting the glasses in at a later stage. I think that trying to bring them along with the overall forms in the face and the head might give you misleading information. Even if only subconsciously, you'll likely find yourself relating features to those glasses frames (which after all have no fixed anatomical "home"), instead of to other features.

Be aware that self-portraits are very difficult to critique, in that neither you nor we can simultaneously view what you're looking at and what you're painting.

A great exercise, though, and a wonderful "record" to have.

Keep at it.
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