[Garth Herrick]

Deborah,

This is a fun and joyful image to look at, and I think it is a breath of fresh air. I love the luminence in this work. In this respect you are far more successful than the photo. After all it is a very sunny day and your daughter is in perfect sync with the wonderful weather. I think most importantly you captured the real feeling of the occasion, and I like the luminous lights in the feet, arms, etc. The slight flattening does not bother me. One could paint this a little darker to get all the "correct" highlight relationships, but one would compromise the whole aspect of fun and levity in the painting in the process. Since you are not using a flash photo reference, the super high key values work, because the forms turn just enough. Don't worry, the viewer knows how to complete the interpretation even if some of the information is only suggested or a little understated. I like it.

The one thing that bothers me is the dark line on her right leg is a lttle heavy and out of sync with the luminance. I don't know how easy it is to lighten a watercolor, but that line could be modulated to be much more diminished as it rises toward her knee.