Hello Garth,
I love this pastel a lot.
Perfect spontaneity.
I admire your work, and the heart you put in your paintings and drawings. Your formal oil paintings are great and technically impressive. I am however very glad to see you posting simple pastel sketches, which let you express your artistic sense so spontaneously.
I did not think the boy was putting on a tie when I first saw the picture. Actually I thought, at first sight, that his elbows where leaning on a table. I understood later when looking more closely, that he was holding drumsticks in his hands and that there was a cymbal too.
I agree with Alex : if you want to emphasize the importance of the instrument in your composition, it could be a little bit more clarified. This would make the painting more readable.
Also, concerning what Steve wrote about the drumsticks, I would add that you may want to rectify them a bit, by straightening them up. They look curved on the sketch, and this might be the reason why some people may think of it as being a tie...
I saw the photos you posted in the resource photo critiques, and the way you handled the shirt's drawing, color and light, compared to what we can see on the photo, does give a soft and fleeting mood to the sketch, that helps revealing the boy's character I think.
Sincerely,
Karine
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