The jury's out

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Pastels aren't my medium either, but I would think you could make adjustments by using soft pastels. The pastel artists I know seem to work hard to soft, as oil painters work lean to fat. And I wouldn't ditch the painting; it's really nice and you've got so many interesting elements in it that I think it's a keeper.

[Chris Saper]

Dear Cathy,

In my experience, Wallis paper is about the only commercially available paper you could rework to the extent that you have in mind. The Stonehenge, and most other papers I have tried, just don't have a sturdy enough tooth to take aggressive reworking.

Congratulations of your beautiful new website! Your work is absolutely lovely.

[Sophie Ploeg]

I think this is beautiful! A great find on the ref photo too! I love what you did with the fabric of the dress.

I like the figure a lot, but I would indeed, change the background. I don't like the bright blue there and I would darken it with green. Maybe you can make the shapes in the background a bit more vague. Just try with softer pastels and see how much you can still cover. It all depends if the tooth of the paper (I don't know that paper myself) is filled up yet.

I like the fact that the whole is not too smooth and one is still able to see the strokes. It makes it alive.

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Cathy,

The thing that interests me the most about this work is how very different it is from your oil portraits on your website. You have quite a range!

I think that one of the hardest things to do when an artist changes backgrounds is to come up with believable shadows.

By the way, that hand on the viewer's right side is especially lovely.

[Marvin Mattelson]

Whether oil or pastel the background needs to be integrated with the foreground. Those strong chromatic blues in the shadows and mountains seem very isolated from the figure and I don't feel any atmosphere. The drawing is the strongest part but the relationships need to be rethought.

Hope this helps.

[Rochelle Brown]

Cathy,

As you've shown it to us, the work does have an appeal for the eye. It seems to be an expression of emotion rather than a formal portrait. The pencil marks could be a significant part of that expression. Maybe you would like to do more works of a similar theme.

[Catherine Muhly]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I think the changes are an improvement!

[Jean Kelly]

It looks like a totally different painting. Very dramatic now.

Jean

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Yes! That does it. Sometimes less is more; the dark background doesn't compete with the figure either in color or in content, and the picture now reads as a cohesive whole. Very nice!