Mike,

Despite your travail with this piece, it looks loose and fresh and easily done! I particularly like the way you have handled the surface quality and left the medium to show itself texturally.

And I know what will scare you, even more than the duck thing.

Hi Mike, I have been looking at this repeatedly and something was bothering me, then I remembered seeing your reference here: http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...0&goto=newpost, so I looked at the two together...just some thoughts for what they are worth.

First, I too love how you handled the highlights on her chest, but I think you missed an opportunity to add a lot more seductiveness to this lovely lady by decreasing the shadow on her face so much, maybe to try and compensate for photographic reference. If you look closely at your reference the shadow on her left forehead is also extended to the right side of her face with a little more warmth from the check towards the chin. By lessening this shadow, I think you brightened up her chin a lot, decreasing the fullness of her lips, they could be much lusher. Lightening this shadow has also caused you to brighten the whites in her eyes losing some of the mystery there.

If the shadow continues down, notice the value in her neck vs. her cheek: you have them close now where the bright highlight on the left of her neck, really darkens the right side. This will pop her chin out more too.

There is a beautiful highlight that you have captured on the crown of her head, you could take that even a step further doing a nice fade with your background. Notice that the left cheek hair highlight is the just about the same up near the crown on the right of her head, but notice the change as it gets down to her neck on the right.

Sorry for all these nits, but everyone gave you great technical advise, so I thought I'd just be picky. I think you have the eyes, just need a tad bit more drama!

Of course a young man serving blender beverages in the background would be nice - knowing the orgin of the photo! :)

Elizabeth,

Now that my pastels have fully dried I will just pick a nice deep color and glaze it over and deepen the shadows. If I don't like it I'll just wipe it off. NOT! Wouldn't that be nice. I am fooling around with some of these facial values. I do fear that too much diddling will spoil my soup.

Chris,

Does this mean that you've been in contact with my ex-wife? I swear that duck was alive the last time I saw it. And how it got into her jewelry box...well, I'm shure I don't know.

"Darned Heads"
 

Hi, Mike.

It sometimes takes me over a month or more to get a head right!

Mike don't you dare stop, my little "nits" were I think workable things... it's going to be lovely! I find a dry paint brush does wonders when I have to re-work an area!

Of course if your duck turns into a goose and gets cooked, then we really have a problem. And yes it makes no sense, but I haven't figured out the duck thing either. :cool:

The following is my best effort and represents the final framing of this piece. Thanks for the help.

closer view ...

Great job, Mike, she's a beauty!

:thumbsup: Mike, how did you get the overall color so much warmer? Or is it the scan/my screen? The nose looks great!

It's really lovely Mike, next!