Li'l Red Haired Girl
 

This is my "Li'l Red Haired Girl," 20" x 16", oil on canvas.

Richard, this is a nice painting with nice color. You may try the following to improve the painting.

I see a problem with mainly the drawing and the edges.

Drawing:

1) The head seems to be off-centered from the body; it is a little to her right.

2) The shoulder to elbow size of her left arm is longer than her right.

3) Check the upper right forehead and see if the hair comes in towards the head just a little more.

4) Her right hand seems to be small, her left hand seems to be the proper size.

5) The wheat stem is not continuous through the hand.

Edges:

1) The edges at the top of her shoulders are too sharp; soften them like you have them at the bottom of the dress, and you may even then soften those at the bottom of the dress further.

2) The top of the mouth is a little too prominent, especially at the corner of the mouth. There should be a little shade at the corner of the mouth from the rounded cheek since the light seems to be coming from above. Also, soften the edges of the mouth.

I hope this help you make a better painting, because you have a great start.

Daniel

Hello Richard,

It is a very nice painting. What my feeling is, is that you have a tendency to give several volumes in the face, the same kind of 'roundness'. Would like to see the source-photo for comparison, maybe I can go more into detail about this. (Or maybe the source-photo shows it exactly like you painted it. Then it's my mistake :sunnysmil )

Something is bothering me about the little flower you placed right under her face. The light accent it makes distracts the attention from the face a bit too much.

And I really like the way she holds her open hand, it gives the pose really something energetic in a subtle way.

Greetings,
Peter