Critique – Eva Davis

Eva Davis

Student’s Comments:

What I like:

  • I wanted to recreate the autumnal mood of the scenery with the ferns, and I like most of the colours I used.

What could be improved:

  • I tend to often end up painting too many details – even though I wanted more detail in the foreground, I am not sure if it’s too many and too busy.
  • Highlights could be improved on I think.

Dan’s Comments:

What I like:

  • Love the composition. It appears natural and pleasing on the eyes. You have taken a noisy and cluttered scene and turned it into something organized and coherent. I also like how you have not followed a cookie-cutter composition.
  • The colors work well together, particularly the reds and greens. The reds are strong against the sea of pale greens. You show good restraint in your use of color saturation. Less is often more with color.
  • The dark accents add contrast and anchor the painting.
  • You have utilized a wide value range, from the dark accents all the way through to the light blue sky.

What could be improved:

  • My eyes are searching for a bit more clarity. Perhaps a key feature or focal point where you push the detail and hard edges.
  • The trees could use a bit of tidying up, particularly the dark, prominent ones.
  • The black works but be careful with future paintings. Black is powerful and can easily overpower a painting. I also find many artists lean on it for the dark shadows and overlook all the other options.
  • See if you can work the trees into the surrounding landscape. They should appear both distinct yet part of the surroundings. Perhaps you can push some of the leaves and plants up into the trunk.

Check out Tom Thomson’s work for inspiration. Your painting reminds me of his work.

Thanks Eva!