Pastel for critique

[Carol Broman]

Hi,

I haven't posted in a while. Too nervous about having my work viewed, much less critiqued. I can post the reference photo for this if it aids in your critique (just got to find it!)

This was a sample done for a gallery that reps my pastel portraits to entice commissions from corporate entities. It was done in a rush for a presentation so I only spent about 8 hours on it. (that's a rush for me) Needlesstosay, I didn't spend a whole lot of time making sure the drawing was absolutely correct and I can easily observe that I have drawn the ear much too big and the nose is bit off. I didn't measure or anything, I just started drawing. This lack of preliminary planning is a persistent problem for me since I am always too eager to jump in with color and value and don't take the necessary time to make sure everything is right.

Please go easy on me! You guys have work that just blows me away, so anything you say will be helpful to me!

[Michele Rushworth]

Very nice! My only comments would be that the skintones seem very strongly pink, but this could be just how things are showing up in the photograph. Also I'd omit the stripes on his shirt. It looks like they were giving you problems anyway.

[Chris Saper]

Carol,

This is a successful, accomplished piece, and I can' t offer much beyond Michele's observations. You have handled the modeling of the subtle forms of the face with skill and a delicate touch, and the edges are a likewise well managed, especially where the hairline meets the skin.

Although you note the likeness issues with the ear and nose, they aren't really anything that someone else might pick out unless they were particularly looking for fine tuning / tweaking things in comparison with your source. In other words, the drawing reads well.

PS About the stripes, I tell people up front they are not allowed to wear little stripes ( nor plaids), or if they do, I won't paint them

[Jimmie Arroyo]

VERY nice. I love the effects of the sharp edges to soft, then hard again with the hand, great depth.

Altho I really like it, especially how informal it is, I would think you might have a problem with it being a corporate portrait. If you have others that are buttoned up, ties and all, then this would work perfect as a more casual option.

Great job either way. Hope to see more postings.

[Michele Rushworth]

to entice commissions from corporate entities.

I didn't notice this part of what you wrote until Jimmie pointed it out. He's absolutely right, this doesn't look like a corporate portrait.

In that universe there are very firm conventions, almost rules, that every truly corporate portrait follows. Look at the work on the main SOG site and you will see that all the subjects are wearing a dark suit and tie, for example, and almost all are looking at the viewer.

In art, of course, we can break the rules, but in the business of corporate portraiture it's better for an artist to first show that they can conform to them before they break out of the mold to forge their own way.