Student’s Comments:
What I like:
- I like that I’m pretty close to achieving the feeling of a relaxing, pensive lovely woman.
- I like her form, the tones, and the book.
What could be improved for next time:
- I’m not sure about the pot of flowers and greenery on the left.
- I think it needs more highlights.
Dan’s Comments:
What I like:
- Pleasing contrast between warm and cool colors. I like how you restrained the blue so that the warm colors appear more powerful.
- I like the overall design. A strong focal point with a few smaller points of interest.
- Good proportions and drawing.
What could be improved for next time:
- Try to capture the flow of the drapery. Think in terms of shapes and contours. Look at Giovanni Boldini’s work for inspiration.
- The shadows are a bit inconsistent. The book’s shadows are much stronger than the other shadows. Try to break areas into two distinct segments: lights and darks. You can convey so much realism by simply getting the lights and darks right.
- Be careful about getting caught up in the details. Instead of painting every strand of hair, focus on the general color shapes and paint only the essential strands.