First critique

I am a new member and this is my first critique. This portrait is of my daughter. The reference photo that I used was taken by a window with late afternoon sunlight coming in. Other than the fact that she looks about five years older than she is, I feel the likeness is good. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

[Linda Ciallelo]

I like it. I like the colors , the light, the expression on her face. She looks like she's self consciously waiting for her mom to take her photo, but you have the basics done well. You have the tools you need to explore more of the same successfully. Well done.

Thank you Linda for your kind words. The color to me was the hardest part since I have only been doing portraits in color for a few months now. I am hopeful as I experiment, it will be less of a struggle to get the color I want.

[Jeanine Jackson]

Deliciously soft and sensitive are my first impressions. I question the direction of gaze in each eye as the painting might benefit from some adjustment.

[Lon Haverly]

Nice job on a lovely subject.

The higher contrast of the hair does not seem to match the lower contrast of the face. Perhaps it would be easier to critique if you included the reference photo. It takes a bit of daring to include the dark values in a portrait, especially when there is a strong light source.

I understand the timidity when drawing those you love. It is tough!

I have attached the photo reference. Jeanine, I see what you mean about the gaze. I had a hard time with her left eye because when I drew it the way I saw it, it looked "lazy" so I changed the shape of her upper lid which may have thrown the gaze off. I will try again with a new sitting and photo reference.

Lon, I agree with you regarding the contrasts not matching. The hair needs to be toned down a bit. Thank you both for your input!

[Lon Haverly]

Linda, I would darken the shadows of the skin tones rather than toning down the hair.

[John de la Vega]

Lovely, sensitive job, Linda. Seeing the reference photo, I should point out that your daughter's nose in the painting is too long, which makes her look considerably older. I don't know that you'd want to shorten the nose here, because it'd be a MAJOR change that would affect everything. My suggestion is that you do another portrait, in which you could also add a bit more contrast, with brighter lights (start with, say, a Naples yellow light or deep -Old Holland Naples Yellow Deep Extra is a fabulous basic flesh tone- mixed with another Old Holland, Brilliant Pink, both great hues that keep you from having to use too much white, thus avoiding the 'chalky' look. Keep the non-light area clean (don't use browns or greys, just mix the shadows from deep rose and a bit or raw sienna, adding maybe a smidget of 'darker' yellow-green).

Thank you Lon for your input. I will try your suggestion.

John, I agree about her nose. I love this photo of her, however, I have struggled with it and have drawn it many times. The charcoal drawing that I did prior to this was pretty "right on" so then I felt it was time to move on to color. I will try again rather than trying to alter this one. Thank you for your suggestion of colors to use.

[Chris Saper]

Dear Linda,

I very much agree with your decision to start anew. I have SO often found that trying to make drawing adjustments at the eleventh hour is simply an exercise in frustration. It's a little like having to replace a sentence in a well-stated paragraph.

I have become very impassioned about making my fundamental choices early enough in the painting so that only small adjustments are needed at the end; and leaving those decisions that can ONLY be made at the end, to the end. Making the right decision AT THE RIGHT TIME makes all the difference in the world.

Your daughter is beautiful.

Best wishes, Chris