[Chris Saper]

Dear Jennifer,

This is a lovely little drawing! I know you have specifically requested input regarding edge quality, and I hope you don't mind, but I don't think it's possible to consider edges in isolation, because in this piece they are intricately related to value and design. Here's what I mean.

As Stephen has noted, the outlining of shapes contributes to the edge issue (although I must say, I have seen work that has an outlined quality, and it doesn't necessarily distress me...it's generally in someone's illustrative-oriented style, which can be very distinctive), and more so that the outlines are rather uniform across the surface. There is little I can add to Stephen's specifics about edges.

The lines/outlines become more noticable for two additional reasons. First, the lines are substantially darker in value that the shapes they describe. By way of example, I look at the cheek on our right, and the place it touches the collar. The skin will be darker in value than the white shirt; by concentrating on the more subltle value relationships, I think you can convey the separateness of shapes and planes without so much reliance upon lines. There is likewise a greater value shift between the background and the chair elements, than in most of the figure, (the hair is quite successfully described, I think) so the chair becomes an unintended center of interest, in competition with the head. One way to deal with this might be to make the darkground more middle-toned in value, and the chair more similar to the bachground in value, so that the the lightest lights and darkest darks remain with the figure.

The second component of this drawing which is aggravating the edge issue is the design. You have quite a few tangents going on...(areas where shapes or lines come together in a way that draws unintended attention or shapes). For example, the ear on our right forms an oval with a shape that reads as a seashell - perhaps a knothole in the wood - and is further underscored by the very dark line on the slat behind. With regard to the ear on our left, the edge of the chair slat points like an arrow to the outer edge of the ear, and is an invisible achor to the hair behind. This would be easy to fix by just eliminating the slat. It is difficult to arbitrarily alter the postiion of something like the chair slats, which are quite regular and mechanical in their construction. However, with something like a tree or drapery, you would simply move one of the shapes so that they read as an overlapping of forms, rather than as a tangential joining of forms.

Despite my long-winded comments, you should feel very pleased with this drawing. It is fresh and spontaneously drawn, with a fine likeness.