[Chris Saper]

Dear Linda,

Lovely job. I have only a couple of comments. First, coming from a believer in limited palettes, do not apologize for the number of colors you use, just be sure they are the right ones to give you the range in color and value you need for the painitng at hand. Anders Zorn painted with 4 colors, period. There is a lot of basis to the school of thought (certainly with regard to pastels - Doug Dawson teaches this approach) that you should begin with the fewest number of colors, then add only as you find necessary to improve the work.

I see your color harmony as a beautifully restrained red-green scheme, and that your light source is cool in nature.

The only suggestions I have address drawing and shadows. Regarding drawing, the head is a bit too large for the shoulders and hands. As a result, it looks a little like you have had to squeeze the composition onto a canvas slightly too small. Even though there is a lot of foreshortening, I base this on my measurements of comparative size between hands and face, on both the photo and the painting.

The second comment I have is regarding shadow unity. The differences you have in your painting between shadow and light are subtle, so you need to be very clear in the way they are separated.

To keep (our) left side of the face in shadow, the reflected light needs to be darker in value, throughout, than the lighted side. The shadow unity also falls apart a little bit in (our) left corner of the mouth where the nasal-labila fold meets the lip. You could very easily correct this. The shoulder in light could also benefit from more value, as well as temperature, separation.

The hands are beautifully rendered. Overall, your style appeals greatly to me. It reminds me a little of the 20th century Taos painters.

Best wishes.