Elizabeth

[Eileen Claire]

I'd be grateful for any suggestions or comments you could give for this painting.

It is 12 x 16 on canvas. Thank you.

[Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco]

Dear Eileen, what an interesting and strong expression you have caught here.
I also like very much the low chroma colour scheme and the subdued light.
I have one comment on the drawing: I find the head slightly flat at the back, there is no sense of its roundness.
This also happens in the mouth, that is described as a horizontal slit rather then going round the face, and in the left shoulders, whose depth can be better suggested with the way the collar rests on it.

I suspect that you might have been working from a reference that might have some distortion, perhaps you can try and sketch the head again and study its egg shape. I am sure that you will be able to correct the painting with little work.
Ilaria

[Michele Rushworth]

I agree with Ilaria that it looks like you were working from a photo that has a great deal of lens distortion, meaning that the camera was much too close to the subject. The head shape is stretched in a very odd way because of this. Stand way back and zoom in with your lens next time.

[Eileen Claire]

Thank you so much, Ilaria and Michele, for your helpful suggestions and comments. I am going to work on this to see if I can correct some of the distortion problems.

I appreciate your taking the time to comment on this.