Hi Allan,
Thank you for the welcome and your comment. I am very determined to improve so I appreciate you taking the time to look at this.
You are right about this having a Photoshop solution for a background. Since this was to be my first oil painting I didn't take the time to set up my backdrop or a more formal portrait setting. I did however, set up the lighting so I would have light and shadow to practice my skintones and get used to using the brushes. I also needed the practice of mixing colors. I will utilize the Resource Photo Critique section to help me in the future. Thank you for that suggestion.
Do you think this particular painting would benefit from varying the background more? Is my edge handling incorrect for this study?
Thank you so much,
Julie
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R60