[Karin Wells]

I got radical with your work. Here's a version of your picture after I "painted" on it in Photoshop. This is what I did and why:

I radically cropped your painting. You have a pretty good abstract shape here, but it got lost with all the other "stuff" added in.

I think that you're a frustrated still life painter at heart. The lamp, table and molding were pretty good, but don't add anything to this portrait.

I cooled all of the background so that it would recede. I did not take the time to "ground the figure" (indicate a floor). I think that the only purpose of a background in a portrait is to enhance the figure.

I lightened the whole thing. The contrast between light and shadow on the face and hands is too great...the value range needs to be much less.

I lightened all of the shadows in the general area of light so that none of them were as dark as the shadows in areas of general shadow.

I lost and found some edges here and there. I tried to integrate the figure into the background more.

I smoothed out the skin tones - I found them too choppy for such a little girl.

I added warmth (red) into all of the skin's shadows.

I added pure color into your reflected lights and darkened the value. This insures that they will not compete with any value contained in the area of general light.

I cooled your halftones (where light meets shadow).

I added cast shadows to the eyeball beneath the upper lid.

I slightly blurred details in the shadow side. Sharp details only belong in light.