If you look, but are quiet, do you not like?
 

Cynthia, in her words of wisdom, told me to take advantage of this Forum, to further my work - but it seems people take a peek and do not comment - ouch - I take that as a negative, she reassures me people are busy and to not take it personally, so I thought I would post my latest "finished" with the reference, then I am going to start another thread with one in progress that I really need help with! Thanks!

Here is the image.

Here is a detail view:

and this is the reference:

Elizabeth, I never know how to interpret the deafening silence, either. I had only one response to my intro but I've gotten into some great conversations on technical issues. That said, I do not do pastels, yet, although I admire them greatly. I think you've handled the medium very well. Also you've taken the subject out of a cluttered and not especially aesthetically-appealing background and placed her in a pleasing setting. I'm wondering why you softened the shadows on the face as much as you did although the results look good. I prefer more shadow, myself. But overall it's quite nice, and I'll bet the subject is very pleased with it.

Elizabeth,

It happens often that many look and don't respond. I know there are many "lurkers" who read, but never join in. (Hello lurkers, come on in, the water's fine!) They might be shy or perhaps they are beginners and feel they don't have something worthwhile to contribute yet. I don't really know.

But, sit tight. I'm sure now that you've called attention to this issue that you will get some response. And, the lack of response has nothing to do with the quality of your work, believe me.

Thanks Leslie,

Thinking back, I have no idea why I played down the big shadow, other than he had such a soft personality, I just couldn't make a lot of hard lines.

I too feel timid about making commments to the wonderful work at this site. Mainly because I am not as "pro" as I would like to be. Let's face it, instead of writing the books, they are sitting in my lap getting pastel dust all over them, so I am afraid I will say something "un-educated or disagreeable" to the pros here. But, I do see post with out replies so I will try and say something. I just love doing pastels so much, they fit my ADHD personality, since I don't have to clean up! I want everyone to love them, so I can only think of two great people to quote here with their incredible wisdom...

First - Thumper, circa 1960's, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" - this is what I am afraid of.

But then there is one of my art teachers from years ago, George Chavetel, circa 1976 - whenever anyone would come to the studio he would always ask them to critique our work. They always said "I don't know much about art", and George would always respond, "Yeah, but you know what you like!" So that is the advice I will carry myself with! There is always something to like! Thanks.

Whoops, Elizabeth, I don't know why I assumed it was a female; I think the hair looks softer and more feminine in your pastel than in the photo, and the chin is less well defined, too. So I read it as a woman and then didn't let the slightly more masculine appearance in the photo deter me. In any case it's very nice, and please don't let your subject in on my error! He would probably not be amused. I am sure that if you knew him and saw the painting there would be no doubt in your mind about his gender.

There are a lot of very accomplished professionals on this Forum and perhaps people get weary of saying, "That's great!" over and over. And some paintings seem to strike a chord, whether positive or negative. Just keep posting, Elizabeth.

Hi Elizabeth,

I

Thank you all so much for your input - it is so nice to get it! :)

Mari and Leslie, it was a major learning for me that you both touched on the shadow and how I didn't make use of it. My lack of experience here, I thought the shadow reflected too much "snapshot". I think it has been the wildest ride trying to relearn all of my studio 101, with temperature and value. These are two things I never really dealt with as an art director for all these years. I left it to the stylist and photographer to worry about, and knew when I liked it. Reading Chris Saper's book re-introduced it to me. (I was playing golf one day with a guy named Kelvin, so I asked him what prompted his mother to name him after a light temperature scale? - he asked if I was a scientist! LOLOLOL).

I think I struggle with the hard vs. soft edges too - I can tell I will learn so much here.

Mari, your DC friend's work is amazing!

Hi, Elizabeth.

I am new here and not exactly an expert, but looking at your painting I thought the pupils were a bit off.

Keep posting, I have often sent Emails to friends asking them what they noticed that sort of popped out. Once I reviewed their comments, I realized I had missed stuff that was rather obvious. By the way, I bet my friends are beside themselves with joy that this wonderful site exists - no need to bother them anymore!

I suppose this will get a bit lost in a dedicated critique section, but since it's already been discussed at some length in this thread, I'd like to speak to this matter of critiques.

Let's get this part out of the way first: If people view the work and do not comment, does it mean they do not care for it? Yep, that's certainly possible, but it's not the end of the artist's world. People also view works in classical museums and modern galleries, don't feel compelled to respond, say nothing, and walk on to view the next. Even among the Old Masters' work, there are pieces I find astonishing and engaging, and others that I can easily walk past without feeling drawn to them in any particular way, can't figure out what's there that excites anyone. The fact that the cognoscenti and Keepers of the Truth have christened them doesn't mean that I have to genuflect, no matter how shrill or strident - and sometimes embarrassingly silly - their canon and polemics.

So, yeah, let's face it. Not everyone will love your work, even if it's very darn good. But you know what? So what?

Okay, with that out of the way, what's going on here, in this Forum? Well, a lot of people who feel very strongly about the beauty and worth of traditional portraiture have come together to support others who feel the same way. Most of us just love what we love and what we're doing, aren't insistent on the righteousness of our own preferences, and don't have any personal negative agenda against what any other artists love to do. We are the extraordinarily privileged of the world, not because we're brilliant or clever, but because we have the happy circumstance of computer access. Too, there are tens of thousands of artists out there who are reporting to their studios every single day without ever signing on to check email or read or write critiques. (Just having written that sentence is giving me ideas.)

The impulse to offer advice to others is often generated by a prior experience of having received a similar gift in one's own training. For folks in our line of work, that advice might be offered in workshops, for which there is time set aside, and compensation for that time and the expenses. It might be offered in intensive studio programs, expensive and requiring extraordinary long-term commitment from students and teachers.

Or it might come through a forum like this, where people who like what they do and want to share their pleasure and talent with others sign on and offer what they can. They can't possibly report to a boiler-room "Operators are waiting Now for your Call!" assignment. Most of the people who can here offer insightful comments borne of experience have to steal precious time away from their own easels, studios, and galleries to do so. And yet they DO it, because they so much enjoy the privilege of passing along the tradition that was their fortune to receive.

But gosh it takes a lot of time and work. I don't even consider myself a professional, just a very serious beginner with some serious training, and I'm often overwhelmed with the number of requests for critiques. If I'm away for a few days, or a few months, dozens of postings are made that I never see, and apparently some of them receive little attention. One thing I've done in the past is to just sign on to Forum Home and look for critique requests that have only one (or fewer) responses, and I'll make an effort to post there. That kicks the thread up to the top of the list and sometimes there are instantly another four or five responses. That tells me that the posting wasn't ignored, it just came in at a time when the most likely respondents were doing something else. Life does go on outside cyberspace.

I'm here quite a bit and yet I discover "old" postings every day of which I wasn't aware. Maybe I was out of town. Maybe I was tired. Maybe they were written in Stevenese. Maybe there were five paintings I wanted to comment on, and midnight fell before I got to number three.

If you're assessing your work in terms of the serendipitous and unpredictable cyber responses - whether in number or content - of the relatively few who spend time online and contribute, you'll be either misled (happily or sadly), or cheated or fooled. Just keep doing your best work. Strive. Read, watch videos, attend workshops and conventions. Show Up and Pay Attention , and others will, too. Nothing posted here matters a dollop if you aren't independently respectful of your own talent and potential, as well as the unique talents and potentials of others with their own training, circumstances, and perspectives.

Best wishes,
Steven