Samantha portrait
 

Hi. This is my first post. I would like to submit this portrait for critique. I took many photographs of this little girl in the park for a commissioned portrait job. Her mother chose a different pose, but this one just charmed me, and I did this pastel just for my own portfolio. It only took me about 7 hours to complete and it was really a joy to do, unlike many of my other commissions which become tedious.

Very beautiful. A couple of things I might suggest are that, first, the very cool areas around the mouth might want to be made a little less cool, and secondly, some of the strand-like quality of the hair may benefit from some blending. I always like the appearance of hair where some of it is treated as a mass and only some is treated as individual strands. A very nice portfolio piece overall though!

Thanks for the comments Michele. I think if there is something about this piece that bothers me it is that cool area around the mouth. It was a part of the photo that didn't seem to make sense to me. Now that it has been called to my attention, it REALLY bothers me. One thing I usually have trouble with is deviating from the photo reference.

Do you think that the detail in the hair is distracting? I usually don't get that detailed with hair but I let myself this time because it was such a dominant part of the portrait. Maybe I shouldn't have. Karen

I would keep the detail in the hair for the portions in the light and soften it somewhat for the areas that are getting less light. I'd also soften the hair detail quite a bit in the lower right area.

Perhaps the issue with the area around the mouth is that the darks, particularly the septum (that little vertical depression between the mouth and nose) is too dark. Making it slightly warmer and somewhat lighter would help a lot, I think.

Thanks, Michele. I will try it. I have the piece in a show right now, but when I get her home I will see if those changes help, and try to get a pic sent of the changes. Karen
:)

This is a sensitively executed and touching piece, my first impression upon seeing it earlier. (Some other business on the Forum clamored for attention in the interim.)

The second observation has to do with the sense that the hair on her left side (our right) is much fuller than I

Steven,

Wow, what a valuable tool this site is turning out to be! I usually have to rely on my husband's non-artist comments to help me catch my mistakes. I took another look at the photo reference and, sure enough, the hair that I was seeing on that side was a group of stray wisps blowing out and making that area look bigger. Now I need to fix that too. I will try to find the time to scan the reference photo for you to see. Thanks a lot.

Karen

She's a winner!!
 

:) Hey, everybody! I must share my news! I had my Samantha portrait (above) entered in a regional contest in Spearfish, SD this last week and she won the People's Choice award and also an Artist Merit award!! I still want to make the changes you suggested, but it's cool that she won anyway! I'm $150.00 richer for it. As soon as I get her back, which won't be until mid-March, I will adjust her and post the changes.

Congratulations on a well-deserved recognition, which will add a colorful feather to the resume cap.

My congratulations to you as well!

I think this is a successfully balanced composition, and well-executed piece, so my comments are really fine-tuning thoughts. In concert with theedge related comments you hav ealready received, I think that softening the outer edge of the arm on our right, where it joins the dedge of the surface, would help cement the viewer's visual pattern, and not tempt a preemptory look in an area you don't want.

There is a tangent in your portrait, where the silhouette of the lower cheek on our right joins the blouse. This would be an easy modification, softening both edges, and making the shapes overlap instead of meet.