Pastel portrait Maisie

[Geraldine Nesbitt]

This portrait was a commission, and although the client was very happy with the likeness I would value any critique to assess my work.

This is my first posting, thank you in advance for any views.

Regards,
Geraldine

[Linda Brandon]

Dear Geraldine,

Welcome to the Forum! It's always a pleasure to see new people on board.

I can see why your client was pleased with this commissioned piece. You have good drawing skills and the color is fresh and subtle, appropriate for this beautiful child. I think you have a light and charming touch with pastel.

My main problem with this painting is that it's cropped very tightly. I would have liked to see more breathing space around her head.

If you put pink in the carunculas (inner corners of the eyes) that helps to give the eyes more life. If you have access to the real child, take a good look at the color changes in the eyes as it will help give a sense of the moist sphere inside the lids. Sometimes it's hard to see this in a photo.

Feel free to jump in and critique some one else's work.

Best regards,
Linda

[Geraldine Nesbitt]

Thanks for taking the time to view and critique. I have taken notes of your comments, especially about the eyes.

Could you give me more advice about the background? I value your opinion, and I know my background is weak. How would you suggest an improvement?

Many thanks.

I look forward to hearing your comments and thank you again for taking the time to look.

Regards,
Geraldine

[Holly Snyder]

Hi Geraldine,

I'm sure you captured a great likeness. Maisie's portrait is fresh and lively. She's a lovely little girl. Her eyes are transfixing, and you portrayed her mouth very nicely. (Sometimes it's hard not to make an open mouth look hard or rigid.)

I agree that there should be a little more open background space around her head. Does your photo show the whole painting? It looks as if it may have been cropped.

I look forward to seeing more of your work!

Regards,

Holly

[Geraldine Nesbitt]

Thank you Holly for viewing my post and for your kind comments.

Yes, the painting is cropped quite a lot.

Regards,
Geraldine

[Michele Rushworth]

You might want to read the many posts regarding good reference photos, elsewhere on this site. I think you will find it easier to create a sense of volume, of roundness of the whole form of the head, if you work from photos that are shot without flash, using a single light source that is not coming from the front.

[Geraldine Nesbitt]

Thank you, Michele, for viewing. Your point was taken and I did look at the forum about good imaging, which helped me a lot.

This was my first commission and I did it as a favour from the photo I was given. Next time I will ensure I take the photo myself. Hopefully they will live in UK.

I joined to gain experience and certainly gleaned a lot here. I hope I improve with my future portraits.

I understand that the time you and your peers spend giving advice is consuming, and I appreciate it. (I also read the post about critique and anger.) No anger here. I'm happy to receive bad or positive feedback but do wonder if I qualify to post here. I am in awe of all the art I've seen and have learned so much already.

Warm regards,
Geraldine

[Michele Rushworth]

Of course you are qualified to post here! Your portrait is very nice. I look forward to seeing your next one.

[Sergio Ostroverhy]

Hello Geraldine,

What a joyful portrait! I like the eyes!