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Sharon Knettell · 11-01-2005, 07:30 PM

Sandra,

This is very lovely, accomplished portrait of an unusual beauty. I love the relaxed sinuous pose; something that is quite difficult to pull off. You have made it work. Steven has made some excellent and useful comments and I won't touch on those.

I know I am probably going to get a lot of raspberries from your admirers, but the calla lilies are just too distracting: perhaps it is their whiteness or stiffness. It is a very soft and curvy pose that calls for a more rhythmic type of flower or none save the ones in back.

I know it is a maddening problem, what to do with the hands. It is one that afflicts all figurative and portrait artists. Personally I would have preferred a gypsy type of scarf draped from her hands: it would have added another way of adding additional color notes and said (I think) more about her personality. Actually I am not of fan of sticking flowers into the hands of female sitters ( although I must confess to this sin myself): it always looks somehow artificial and forced. I think the portrait artist should always try for something a bit less overused and more telling.

11-01-2005, 07:30 PM	#3
Sharon Knettell Approved Member Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,730	Sandra, This is very lovely, accomplished portrait of an unusual beauty. I love the relaxed sinuous pose; something that is quite difficult to pull off. You have made it work. Steven has made some excellent and useful comments and I won't touch on those. I know I am probably going to get a lot of raspberries from your admirers, but the calla lilies are just too distracting: perhaps it is their whiteness or stiffness. It is a very soft and curvy pose that calls for a more rhythmic type of flower or none save the ones in back. I know it is a maddening problem, what to do with the hands. It is one that afflicts all figurative and portrait artists. Personally I would have preferred a gypsy type of scarf draped from her hands: it would have added another way of adding additional color notes and said (I think) more about her personality. Actually I am not of fan of sticking flowers into the hands of female sitters ( although I must confess to this sin myself): it always looks somehow artificial and forced. I think the portrait artist should always try for something a bit less overused and more telling.