Playing cards

[Mai Ly]

Hi Everyone,

This is my latest painting, 16" x 22", on Wallis paper.

The focus of this painting for me was to study effective composition, placement of accents, strokes and different values. I also wanted to use primary colours only for this painting. I tried to get to the closest colours but this was the best I could get from Photoshop.

I would appreciate comments on the above areas, as well as anything else that anyone can see or think of!

Mai

[Mai Ly]

Here is the close-up for the face.

[Mai Ly]

Close up for the dress.

[Mai Ly]

Close-up for the hands.

[Mai Ly]

Finally, a close-up of the bear in the background.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Mai, she is so cute. Is this one of yours?

Other than the beautiful little girl, the one thing I have noticed is that you seem to have outlined a lot of the figures with a dark color. Everyone keeps telling me to watch my edges, so with great wisdom, I can say "Mai, watch your edges!"

Is the paneling behind her a door? If yes, is it somewhat open? I think you can darken your value on the right door looking at the image. There should be a shadow since it recedes. If it is closed your perspective might be off a tad.

The way you have cast the other shadows, I am wondering if you have the light source coming right at her shoulder, which would lighten up the dark area on her shirt.

Her hair is wonderful!

As to the "scratching" of the pastel, I like it in the carpet, but I don

[Mai Ly]

Hi, Beth,

The door is not supposed to be opened. Does it look that way to you? I think I have been looking at it too much. I can't tell anymore! I will have another look at the cast shadow.

The strokes on the fabric were kind of an experimental thing to me. Maybe I am not doing a very good job at 'scratching'. I wanted to leave some fresh, unblended strokes on the dress. I was not too worried about the fabric or pattern of the dress, except that I wanted it to show that the material is on the heavier side.

As for the edges, I put them in deliberately. Now, I know everyone says 'Watch out for the edges'. This is an area that I want to have a handle on. If you look at the face, I don't think my edges are that obvious, because I wanted it to look soft for the little girl. However, the dark lines that I put in were where I wanted to make emphasis on certain areas. For example, around and underneath her left wrist to show that her weight is on it, and on top of her shoulder near the back of her head, to emphasize the fact that she is leaning forward to pick up the cards.

I am still learning how to do these 'accents' effectively. I love most of Degas' works and I try to study and learn from his compositions. It is a 'long shot' for someone at my stage, but I just admire his work so much, and want to do some experimenting myself. I would appreciate some experts from this Forum helping me out in this particular area if I am doing this totally wrong.

Thanks, Beth, for your time looking at my files!

Mai

[Margaret Port]

Mai,

If you hold a ruler across the bottom edge of the door you will find that the edge doesn't line up from one side of the child to the other. I think that is what Beth means about the door looking like it might be open.

The face, hands, arms, etc. are beautifully handled, but I am a little confused by the dress. If you did this from a photo, can you post a reference? I don't read it as heavy fabric because there are too many indications of folds, or maybe that is just a pattern on the fabric. I think I would like to see a little more work done just on the dress to bring it to the same state of finish as the rest of the figure.

[Mai Ly]

Hello Margaret,

Thank you for your kind comments. I will fix the line across the bottom of the door. I did measure the line with a ruler 'twice', but don't know why it still came out like that!

The fabric is kind of heavy, corduroy with quite a lot of folds. There are patterns on the dress, but I did not want to put them in. It is just my choice not to put them in because I wanted the painting to look a certain way. Based on your and Beth's comments, I think I did not do a good job showing the fabric with my strokes. I will have another go at it.

Personally, I do not like to post references because most of my paintings are painted from combination of life, photographic reference or sometimes imagination, depending on the paintings that I paint. I like to present my paintings in a certain way, and would like people to give feedback based on 'what they see', rather than compare it with a photograph. Just like with the dress, I can see that I did not do a good job showing the fabric and folds with my strokes, based on your and Beth's opinion. And, I will work on it!

I appreciate your comments!

Mai

[Mai Ly]

I have adjusted the pattern on the dress and the edge of the door. Here is the updated version.

Mai