[Chris Saper]

Hi Deborah,

You have conveyed a lot of energy, and very successfully, in this portrait. I think watercolor is the most difficult medium for portraiture (well, probably for any subject matter), so my comments may not be helpful in terms of what you are able to do at this point in the painting.

I think your piece would benefit from some very dark, warm (not violet) value notes, especially in the areas where skin touches skin. In a contrasy photo like the one you have used, there's a lot of value compression in the darks- meaning that the shadows tend to be darker and more uniformly so, and as a result, look inky. You have been right to lighten the very darkest areas, which still leaves you some room to place a few strategic darks.

The heel on our left disappears into the cast shadow quite abruptly. Try holding your photo right up against a nightclub in a lamp - you might be able to tease out some information in that shadow. I don't know whether the painting can still be made lighter. As a general note on the shadows: they seem a bit cold to me. The edges of the cast shadows should be nice and crisp (as you have them) right next to the object casting the shadow, but they should become progressively softer as the casting object gains distance from the surface upon which the shadow is cast. There is a cast shadow next to the place where ankle and foot meet on our right. It forms, I think, a bit too much tangent - you can soften it and move it just a little without it making the drawing look wrong.

The compression problems in the photo are likewise challenging at the light end of the value scale, so that information is pretty much obliterated on the hands and feet. Personally I would never try to guess at the hands - you could try having the negative (assuming this is from film) reprinted to be underexposed, then you might be able to get some information out of the negative. Or you could try rephotographing those little hands in a similar position (I have had to do this more times than I can count). If it's a digital image, you should be able to manipulate it to gain info in the lightest areas.

That being said, I am also thirsting for some really light areas (always in comparison) that support the impression of form and center ofinterest. I am thinking the light on the chin, the apples of the cheeks, the tops of the shoulders. At the moment, the area in your painting of strongest contrast and sharp edges is where the arms meet cast shadow. I can see well-differentiated highlights along the forearms (more so on our left) and on the top of the foot on our left. Value differentiation here will help create the illusion of form, and diminish the flatness that the arms, hands and feet now have. In terms of moving the center of interest toward the face, the "J" shaped shadow cast by the lock of hair onto the shoulder especially on our left, I think offers a great opportunity for edge and value manipulation.

Well, that might be more information than you want, and you might just have to say, "Hey! It's a watercolor!"