Self-portrait

[Judson Eneas]

What critique can you give of this one?

[Alexandra Tyng]

Judson,

I recently joined the forum, but I have looked through a lot of posts and I have seen some of your earlier attempts. I think your work has taken some leaps forward. The modelling is very nice. Not many people share your style of very broad, bold strokes. You are not timid, which is just fine. Nice highlights, too. My only criticism right now is that the neck seems too long for your head. I cringe when I say this, because fixing the neck means either moving the head down, or moving the shoulders up. And you have done a nice job of the head and the shoulders. Getting something really good means being willing to paint over something that you don't want to get rid of.

I would suggest that, in the future, you very carefully draw the major shapes onto your canvas and double-check the proportions before starting to paint. If you like, have an artist friend come over and check it too. It helps to have a fresh eye. At that point it's easier to listen to what your friend says. You wouldn't want someone coming in when you have finished (like me) and saying "gotta get rid of___!"

But, as I said, this looks promising.

Alex

[Michele Rushworth]

I agree with Alexandra that this work shows great improvement. Keep it up!

There are two suggestions that I have:

Watch the value changes on the upper right part of the head and be sure that the form still reads like a solid curved shape.

The reflected light under the left side of the chin seems too light.

Good start, though. I look forward to seeing more of your new work.

[Richard Monro]

Judson,

What great progress! You have a very distinctive style emerging which I recommend you maintain as it will mark any work you do as distinctly a Judson. As far as the distortion goes, again a choice needs to be made. Either incorporate it as part of your style much as El Greco did so successfully or go for accuracy. Nothing wrong with either approach as long as you know the difference. My only criticism would be that the modeling of the forehead (your left, viewers right) makes it look like there is a dent there. That does need to be corrected. Otherwise I look forward to your future works.