The quilt

[Sharon Knettell]

I think Linda has made a good point about doing a thumbnail color and composition study before proceeding.

I like the strong pyramidal composition of the figure and the quilt falling to the floor. The whole structure of the chair woman and quilt would work alone with only a strong vertical device to balance the composition on the right hand side. The fireplace is too busy and the doll at the end pulls the eye away. Even if you were to keep the fire place it should be dulled with a complementary color, which in this example would probably be green. The bricks would have been better if they had been suggested rather than individually painted.

Velasquez is a good example to study, his pictures are good examples of what to adumbrate and what to focus.

See if you can find some examples of the Boston School, like Tarbell, Benson and Paxton to see how beautifully interior domestic subjects can be handled.

[Holly Snyder]

Thank you all very much for the feedback. I suspected that the background items should be dulled and darkened, but was hesitant about painting over the bricks and doll. At this point I think I'll simply dull the fireplace and doll, rather than do anything drastic, and move on to bigger and better things : ). I did do a little study of Angie, but from a photo taken from a more frontal angle, and on the advice of fellow artists I chose this angle. My impatience also got the best of me, so I didn't do a study of this angle. Regardless, I do need to develop a better eye for composition. I tend to focus far too much on modeling and skin tones and edges, etc. (the details) when looking at art books, instead of the big picture (design and composition).

On another note, I'll have a couple days in Boston in mid-July to peruse the Boston Museum, Gardner Museum, and Newbury Street. I plan on seeing if your painting, Sharon, is still at the Copley Society. Are there any particular galleries on Newbury Street that you could recommend Sharon?

Thanks,

Holly