Hat Horrors
 

I did this graphite study of my next commission which will be in oils and I need advice on the hat. First, it is ugly, second it is blown out by the bright sun so hard to see shape relative to how it fits on the head. I have posted the drawing and the photograph (which I could not talk the customer out of using, boo hoo)

Thanks for looking and considering what you might do in this situation.

I'd ask the client to borrow the hat, or try to buy one like it. Put it on a doll's head and light it similarly. Worse comes to worse, buy some clay and sculpt it. My two cents worth! ;-)

so, you would put in the patterns of the hat, the little decorations in the fabric?

Thanks, Marvin. I do think I can get the hat from the client.

I would take the values a little deeper, and let the highlights help define the shape. The shadow under the hat brim and on the face could both be deepened according to gray scale:

Putting in the pattern could actually break up the shape and therefore bring the emphasis to the face. i would lower the value of the hat slightly and raise the value of her face shadow slightly. Maybe 1-1 1/2 values. Do a small color study before embarking on the actual painting to work out color and values. The reference is your starting point, not your end result. You may want to reshoot the hat yourself & match the picture. I would also soften the background.

Thanks, Marvin,
The adjustments you made look great. I will use it for reference. I don't think I will paint in the window frame in the background. I will attempt the patterns on the hat. I trust you on this one! You are a big help!

I just tweaked the face to add more light there and replaced the previous jpeg above.

You are the BEST!