Tom and Jerry

[Simon Bland]

I recently joined the forum and this is my first post here. Hello everyone !

I'm just finishing up a portrait of a boy and his dog (names have been changed as requested) and I thought I would put this out for critique before I deliver it to the client.

The painting is oil on canvas, 24"x24".

This was one of my favorite paintings of the year as the boy is autistic and he couldn't pose for me. I took photographs of him as we were driven around in the back of a Kubota RTV - what fun! I wanted to paint him with some back lighting so I was lucky to capture a photo of him looking at me, smiling, with the sun in the right place. It took nearly two hours to get.

I left part of the canvas unpainted (but toned) as I felt it fitted in with the casual look of the painting. I'm also trying to decide whether or not to place his left hand around the dog's body. Any thoughts?

I would welcome any feedback, critiques or digital demos.

Thanks,

Simon