Portrait of my Wife

[Rui Manuel]

Hi there:

Just wanted to show you my new portrait, an oil on canvas, and ask you for critics or any sugestions you may have.

Regards from Portugal,
Rui.

[Steven Sweeney]

Very nice, Rui, a lot of surfaces

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Rui,

Thank you for posting this lovely painting of your wife. The more I look at it, the more I like it. I like the way her strap slips off her shoulder, it's a nice touch.

I have a suggestions for using outdoor light. Your wife has a slight squint to her face, which is very usual in even diffuse bright light conditions. Next time you might want to try shading her with a thin sheet or curtain just out of camera range. Often this is just enough of a light filter to allow people to open their eyes more fully.

I also want to point out that your white petunias all have the same shape and direction. Even if this happened in nature you might want to consider rearranging them to give them a more natural garden appearance; some half open, some dying, some drooping, etc. .

Please keep sharing your work with us.

[Rui Manuel]

Hi again :

Thank you so much for your kind and usefull responses.

Steven : yes, it is finished. It is funny how you are right about the composition problems you pointed out, and how coudn't I see them before. Well, the really truth is that I am a beginer on painting and I am always eager to finish and start a new one, and besides that, my vision tends to be somehow tired after looking so many hours at the same image. This problem of mine is particulary serious when I am getting (or trying to) the likeness of a person. When I go to bed, late in the morning, I think: that's him! In the morning I get up and there is