Pick this apart for me?
 

I am not sure if this is done or not. Do you think I need to do any more work on it? Have I overworked it? I don't really care if she looks like my model. I just like the concept. I had to make it kind of small since it is so wide. Hope you can see it ok. Karen

Beautiful
 

That's so beautiful! The only possible thing I can think of is that the line where the rock meets the water seems slightly too dark. It sort of stuck me in the eye. You have beautiful coloring!!

Thanks! The original isn't quite as contrasty so I wonder if that dark line would still be too dark if you saw it. Wouldn't hurt to tone it down some though. Thanks again... I seldom do water scenes, or any landscapes for that matter. It was a challenge!

Karen

Changes
 

I lightened up that line and it really helped! Take a look!

Colors
 

The colors in this one are more like the original I think.

Landscape and figure
 

Personally, I do not care to do landscapes and only do them if there it surrounds a figure!

The problem, as I see it, is not the degree of finish but the competition between the landscape and the figure. Both are equally important in your picture and I think that the baby should dominate.

If you were to greatly soften, cool and lighten up the background it would still set the scene but would not overpower the baby. The baby and the distant background have both the same degree of finish. If you were to look at that figure from life in that situation and looking directly at the baby, you would note that the background would be out of focus. Try softening it up a bit.

I think you would be happier with the result. Nice clean job with the pastels! I know how messy they can be!

Thanks for the input, Sharon. I will try that. One area I need to work on is softening the areas that are not the focal point. I guess I am not confident enough that they will read as rocks and weeds, (not having as much practice with landscapes) so I push the details. Maybe I can just scumble a lighter shade over them now that they read well.

Wow, Ive tried pastels, but all I get is a mess when I try to work with them. I guess it takes practice.

I love your work!

Hi Karen,

My comments are perhaps just expanding on Sharon's insight.

There is a loss of depth and atmosphere necessary to create a sense of space between the subject and the background, which is happening, I think, for several reasons. The edges where the rocks meet water are among the sharper edges in the piece, and uniformly so. Because the rocks are also as saturated, or more so than the subject they don't stay behind the subject. Lastly, in the bottom image, the rocks have a lot of yellow, compared to the image at the top. Yellow is the first color to fall away as a landscape recedes. You could take quite a bit of license here, given the humidity that accompanies the sea shore, by desaturating and cooling the rocks.

How large is this painting?

Size
 

Thank you Matthew! I've been working in pastels for about 16 years now. I love them!

Hi Chris,

It measures 17x7. I have worked on it some since the last post. I think I am getting closer to what it needs. Your suggestion about the yellow is good. I will try that too. I added some bluish gray, and lowered the contrast beween the dark cracks and the highlights on the rocks and bushes. I will photograph it again tomorrow for your comments. Thanks so much.

Is this better?
 

I had to wipe out the hills behind her completely and start over. Do they recede enough?

Yes, there's a much better sense of distance now.

Thank you Sharon, and Chris!

I agree!! It was worth the trouble for sure. I have learned a valuable lesson! Thanks so much!!

Bravery!
 

I agree with Chris, however,at the left bottom of the hills there is a rather sharp brown line, soften it as it makes the hills look somewhat detached from the water and floating. I think you could also scumble a tad more of the sky color over the hills to lighten them up a bit. All in all a good job overall!

Karen, I think it's a much stronger painting now. I agree completely with Chris and Sharon that the background was competing too much with the child. As you have it now, minus that brown separating line, it creates a lovely mood and allows the viewer to focus on the child within a landscape, but not dominated by it. Nice work!

From good to great!
 

I think it has improved so much. I am really grateful for the help with it. I fixed the dark line on the left. One last photo of the finished product. Do you see anything about the baby that could be improved?

Can't see anything about the baby that I'd change at first glance but what does jump out at me is the bottom ellipse of the bucket. It doesn't match the top ellipse of the bucket opening.

The bucket
 

That's not hard to fix. The bucket has been kind of like an afterthought next to all the other elements. I noticed yesterday after I photographed it that it looks pinched where she is holding the bucket , so I have fixed that. I am usually pretty aware of elipses and it bugs me when I see the "elipse" mistake in artwork. Thanks for the heads up. Karen