New member first posting
 

Hi all,

I am a new member and this is my first posting. I have started painting about a year ago, after I decided to stay at home with my two young children. I have learned a lot from everyone by reading all the posts from this site, and have decided to post one of my latest paintings. I would like to make some improvements on the painting, because I am not entirely happy with it. So, any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mai

Wow -- very nice job for someone who just started painting a year ago.

I like the mood and especially the colors on the white sheet.

A couple of suggestions: The shadows on the model's neck and on the hand on our right seem harsh. They might have appeared that way in the reference but for the sake of the painting you might want to soften them.

You might also want to check your drawing in the area of the top of the head. It seems as if it's too small (a very common portrait mistake in the beginning.)

Otherwise, nice job!

Thanks, Michele, for your input.

I will take up your suggestions and fix the painting accordingly.

I really like your works on your website. They are really wonderful.

Thanks again,
Mai

Mai's pastel
 

Mai, that is a wonderful beginning! I agree that the neck muscles need to be softened. Squint when you look at your resource material, live or a photo. You will be able to see the tonal relationships better, then edit out those elements that are not needed to define the area. A blue ribbon tied around her hair breaking above the headboard would give a needed color accent and relate to the lovely blues in the whites. It would also serve to bring more attention to the head. Your background should generally have a picture plane, going from light to dark. Check out the many wonderful artists on this site and see how they paint their backgrounds.