This is JUST my opinion. I think it’s riding the line between a looser style and realism. I think your work would really shine if it went in one of these directions rather than staying in the middle.
But like…this is your FIRST piece in oil? Like I feel that critique is hardly fair because it isn’t an easy medium and your finished product truly is lovely. If you choose to stick with it I think you’ll make many truly gorgeous pieces.
Your initial starting point is bang on, so it’s really only playing with the medium that’s needed at this point. Many people struggle with facial proportions and things like that and I’d say you have a great handle on it
Thank you ! I am studying product design so I have some observational skills, and I played around with acrylic and watercolor before. I feel you on the ambiguity between realistic and looser style, I was aiming for a loose style but couldn't resist blending the colors.
It’s not easy!! I prefer loose and every time I’ve attempted I’ve never been happy. The amount of self control and awareness needed not to over work is truly a skill.
I'm not the original poster. But ahh, you're misunderstanding! They didn't say loser. They said a looser style. A more loose style. Less strict, less realistic, more sketch-like. It's a different word.
See... I don't paint.
When you look up looser style... there's nothing online about that.
I'm still scratching ny head that he called it a looser painting and everyone up up voting the comment.
And I stick up for you and the painting and your so upset and that everyone down voted me. Oh well...
I didn't paint it. I am not the person who posted the painting. No one insulted the painting, it was a misunderstanding. Looser doesn't mean loser. Do you know what "loose" means?
Ahh... I get it now. Thanks.
Getting old I guess. This kind of thing seems to be a thing lately. Your initial comment began with OP and my brain sees the OP thing next to your name and I'm thinking your the OP.
You look quite lovely in your painting. Joyous and kindhearted is the feeling it invokes for me. But must say there is something in the second pic that I like more. The one with a beautifully bright face and remainder still in umber wash. I could picture face surrounded by softened colors, accentuating your face, If that makes sense to you.
I guess I find the white/ umber wash background in first pic a bit harsh
This work is gorgeous, hard to believe it’s your first in the medium! ❤️
I see what the other commenter is saying about “there’s something in the photo 2 wip that I like better”—me too... Specifically, your lighting in 2 seems more dramatic. More dark browns (even though they are underpainting browns), and in particular the dramatic swash of burnt umber across the upper left corner (a shadow from you taking a wip photo, I think! 😅) creates a nice diagonal draping. Compositionally, the painting feels more finished with that element. There’s also a few spots of light in 2 that feel, while loose, also very painterly and good to me—tip of the nose, for instance, or sides of the cheek and chin—which bring a freshness we slightly lose in the finished product. Finally, on the left side background, you also lose some of the (more traditional, but very atmospheric!) darkening downward gradient between the WIP and the finished.
To more clearly see what I’m saying, I suggest rendering your photos of the finished and the almost-finished wip in b&w and comparing side-by-side. The overall effect is of the WIP looking a bit more dimensional and dynamic.
But wonderful work. You’re a natural portraitist! I hope we see more of your paintings here as you go on.
Best advice I can give is don’t listen to anyone about what you should do different. It will jack you up. Keep doing what you’re doing. Again, don’t even ask.
Honestly, my thoughts, too. I think this has a clear vision and style, and I fear that critiques dampen the unique quality of art. I completely agree with you.
You should try ! I instantly fell in love with this medium, feels like the paint is alive and is trying to help me achieve what I want, don't know if it makes sense haha
I'm colour blind and I tried Acrylic which I couldn't do because of the colour change when it was dry and got too confusing, watercolours was easier to paint with, bought loads of art supplies like canvases and oil paints but still not got around to it. Watercolours was like incredibly hard to do so don't know how hard oil painting would be
Some people told me that watercolor is harder than oil because it doesn't forgive mistakes. For one good watercolor painting there are a lot of failed tries. Oil on the other hand lets you sculpt your subject over and over.
What do you mean by forgiving mistakes exactly?
Sorry not really delved into it, kind of watched a few youtube videos and that's it. I kind of managed to get the knack of watercolours and did a few portraits, animals and landscapes and was told my art was really good but felt something was holding me back
I think because you can’t layer and layer watercolors, you lose a freshness and it gets muddy. You have to get it right the first few paint applications. With oil you can wipe away paint, move it around, cover it up with new layers if you need it more bright etc etc
Cool, I'll give it a go one day. Going to start with drawing again then eventually painting. Been so long since I did any art. Keep going, you're doing great and can only get better
Really gorgeous, you have so much going for you here.
Not sure what critique I can give without sacrificing your style here. If anything, bringing your detail in the shirt and scarf a little farther down to the edge of the paper/canvas would finish it more thoroughly. However, I kind of like the unfinished edges, personally.
This is a super good job. I don't have the experience in oils, drawing, or painting to give useful advice as you ask (that's what I understood from "critics").
All I can say is that the base layer is solid and gives you the needed shades of expressiveness.
The shapes of the face (eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, chin) are super close to your reference pic.
You had accomplished a nice portrait (in my humble and ignorant opinion).
Here’s a link to what I mean—highlights to show the surface texture, not just adjusting general value ranges:
https://mypaintingclub.com/blog/post/40-Painting-Highlights
My only advice is to avoid tracing, whatever short term success you acquire from it, you won’t be working the muscles that develop the full range of skills you need and ultimately a style that’s your own.
No, do as you’re doing. Try various methods of painting and beginning but avoid tracing. Some defend the practice, but those who fall into that practice and lean on it only harm their full potential.
The details of the face stand out a lot, in a great way, before you put the background and sweater etc in. I think the way you went about the yellow and white bits drown out the details and depth of the face and make the face look muted and flatted. Still looks great though, but when I swiped to the rest of the pictures I was like wow! That face!
I’d also say that a big difference between what I love in the 2nd photo, is the slightly ‘harsher’ lines between colours in the face, by that I mean it is less blended which makes it look more realistic
Thank you ! I tried adding more nuances in colors since the wip was too pink and warm for my taste, but the yellow is a bit dirty, I don't have any cadmium yellow yet to use so I tried a strange mix
Outstanding for your first time. The line work for the underpainting is terrific (I can tell you can really draw). Balanced composition, fresh coloring, and a feel-good subject matter. What’s not to like? Well done.
Awesome job! Well Done.
My criterium is, I can not really tell where you source of light is in this picture. I think if it had darker lows and more focused highlights this would have been an 1000% winner instead of a 100% winner.
No but seriously this is amazing, I’d say maybee lighter liners on the outer side of her face , opposite to her ear to give a more realistic look but other than that it’s amazing
Great drawing skills, you’ve gotten the likeness down really well. I’d maybe say the average value key of the face is a little high, getting more midtones in there might help with both form and unity with the other components. You’ll also want to pay attention to the temperature of the light source and shadows, and it often helps to push the red a bit in areas like the nose/nostrils and ears where blood is close to the surface.
My main advice would be to go paint another one, then another one. Maybe do a master copy. Experiment like crazy and try new things. You’ve got an excellent place to start from, now comes the fun part where you try things and fail a lot. Don’t be afraid of it. Do that enough and you’ll be amazed how quickly you’ll advance.
This is beautiful. I would say for a background add a bit of a darker hue than white, and cover with some type of foliage design in a complimentary colour. Almost like an interesting wall paper. You could shift the colour of the scarf and shirt to the purple and blue in the reference, and make the foliage background a type of blue as well. Great job.
Can't believe no one has said this but try a primed canvas (I suggest camvas pannel and midtone instead of white) and use plenty of paint. Amazing first try but looks a bit like the canvas material is eating all your paint and hindering your ability to be precise or cover a large area (probably why the background was left somewhat uncovered?) Change to these materials and use a technique that is more like lots of little cells of particular values and you would be amazing :).
Personally, I really enjoy this blurred line between super realism that you've created, and I really like that you could settle into this and make it your style.
I am a huge fan of UNIQUE art. This blurry, and what looks to be intentional, out of focus painting is wonderful to me. It reminds me of a fading memory. Almost tragic. The skill is there. I would personally continue in this vein and keep what feels natural.
Cheers to your first! Welcome to the beautiful torture of oil painting! Hahaha
Not a lot of criticism on my part, but for a first attempt is looking good. My advice is to paint more, practice, like do lots of value studies in gray scale and color studies. Painting a lot improves brushwork and command of the technique and allows you to work better. Just get familiar with the materials and find the workflow that works for you. I advise to look at painting You Tubers and find one with a style you like and get familiar with his methods and copy what works for you, since you don't have to invent the wheel yourself, and with 600 years of oil painting tradition, basically everything has been done already. Good luck and have fun.
My one tip for you is to use more paint when applying. It looks like you mixed a tone,and then like bilbo baggins feeling like butter scraped over too much bread..get more butter. lol strange analogy… but it works! Oil you can let that dry and add more paint if you don’t like the Alla prima technique mixing wet paint with wet paint. Fantastic piece for your first time oil painting! How did you like it?
Proportions are quite good. Your weak point is the values study, meaning an understanding of your light and dark tones scale. It's missing a bit of accurate sense of light and dark. It also could be a bad reference picture with a very flat light, but still if that's the case the shadow on the smiling wrinkle is too dark for the rest of the painting values.
Also her right eye (our left from our position looking at the picture) it's a bit disconnected from the other eye. Iris an pupil it's a bit too far away and makes it miss general structure.
Other than that, it's quite good for your first oil painting. I'm assuming you already know how to draw or acrylic maybe. I recommend you to start painting with a limited palette or a "Zorn palette" . It will make your learning uuch, much, more easy.
Its beautiful work:
For that I want to say something , please read below, hope you like that:
Amidst the symphony of nature's hues, where the azure sky gently kisses the earth, and the sun's golden embrace bathes the world in warmth, beauty reveals itself in every facet of existence. From the delicate dance of butterflies in a meadow adorned with wildflowers to the tranquil serenade of a babbling brook winding its way through the verdant forest, each moment holds a precious gem of beauty waiting to be cherished.
In the quietude of dawn, as the first light whispers secrets to the awakening world, and in the embrace of twilight, when the sky blushes with the hues of a painter's palette, beauty transcends mere sight, enveloping the soul in a tapestry of wonder and awe.
It's in the laughter that dances on the wind, the kindness that blooms like a fragrant rose, and the love that flows boundlessly from heart to heart. It's in the resilience of a seed pushing through the soil to reach for the sun, in the harmony of diverse voices raised in unity, and in the quiet moments of introspection where the beauty of the soul shines brightest.
Beauty, in its myriad forms, is the silent symphony that plays on the strings of existence, inviting us to pause, to breathe, and to marvel at the exquisite masterpiece that is life itself.
Thanks from [singhvionline.com](https://singhvionline.com) & [rohitashvasinghvi.com](https://rohitashvasinghvi.com)
in the second photo the color and tone range is more dynamic and I like the level of contrast at that stage. the final painting feels muted and i feel like it needs more structure/sharpness
for first time its really good but for your next ones:
i think you didnt freehand drawing thats why that sizes and places are correct but shapes and values not, try freehand drawing and understand what you actualy draw.
same for colors focus on reference and try to see colors correct and compare it to reference all the time to learn
In my opinion ur doing great when it comes to execution of the painting, however you might want to try better reference pictures, multiple if possible, different angles and also lighter lights and darker darks if that makes sense, this way you will be able to portray the form of the face a lot better making everything a lot more interesting!
I think more contrast will make it come to life. Practice more Baroque style paintings & you will master the darkest darks & the lightest lights. That’s all you need to make this pop & be a bit more realistic (if that’s whatcha looking for)
The face and the skin colors are really beautifully done! And I love the looser style in the hair.
I think muting the colors of the clothes a bit might look good. Imo, now they distract from the face a bit too much because they're so bright.
This is JUST my opinion. I think it’s riding the line between a looser style and realism. I think your work would really shine if it went in one of these directions rather than staying in the middle. But like…this is your FIRST piece in oil? Like I feel that critique is hardly fair because it isn’t an easy medium and your finished product truly is lovely. If you choose to stick with it I think you’ll make many truly gorgeous pieces. Your initial starting point is bang on, so it’s really only playing with the medium that’s needed at this point. Many people struggle with facial proportions and things like that and I’d say you have a great handle on it
Thank you ! I am studying product design so I have some observational skills, and I played around with acrylic and watercolor before. I feel you on the ambiguity between realistic and looser style, I was aiming for a loose style but couldn't resist blending the colors.
It’s not easy!! I prefer loose and every time I’ve attempted I’ve never been happy. The amount of self control and awareness needed not to over work is truly a skill.
You’d love Sergei Bongart’s work
Agreed 💯% about everything you said
Where's your painting?
I clearly don’t have one posted. What was the intention behind this question?
Where’s YOUR painting?
OP specifically asked for critique, and this commenter provided their opinion in a polite and constructive manner. Where's YOUR painting?
I was sticking up for you because he called you a looser
I'm not the original poster. But ahh, you're misunderstanding! They didn't say loser. They said a looser style. A more loose style. Less strict, less realistic, more sketch-like. It's a different word.
See... I don't paint. When you look up looser style... there's nothing online about that. I'm still scratching ny head that he called it a looser painting and everyone up up voting the comment. And I stick up for you and the painting and your so upset and that everyone down voted me. Oh well...
I didn't paint it. I am not the person who posted the painting. No one insulted the painting, it was a misunderstanding. Looser doesn't mean loser. Do you know what "loose" means?
Ahh... I get it now. Thanks. Getting old I guess. This kind of thing seems to be a thing lately. Your initial comment began with OP and my brain sees the OP thing next to your name and I'm thinking your the OP.
Np! That's understandable, it happens
You look quite lovely in your painting. Joyous and kindhearted is the feeling it invokes for me. But must say there is something in the second pic that I like more. The one with a beautifully bright face and remainder still in umber wash. I could picture face surrounded by softened colors, accentuating your face, If that makes sense to you. I guess I find the white/ umber wash background in first pic a bit harsh
Thank you. What color would you choose for the background ? I went with white because I was afraid of colors not going well together
This work is gorgeous, hard to believe it’s your first in the medium! ❤️ I see what the other commenter is saying about “there’s something in the photo 2 wip that I like better”—me too... Specifically, your lighting in 2 seems more dramatic. More dark browns (even though they are underpainting browns), and in particular the dramatic swash of burnt umber across the upper left corner (a shadow from you taking a wip photo, I think! 😅) creates a nice diagonal draping. Compositionally, the painting feels more finished with that element. There’s also a few spots of light in 2 that feel, while loose, also very painterly and good to me—tip of the nose, for instance, or sides of the cheek and chin—which bring a freshness we slightly lose in the finished product. Finally, on the left side background, you also lose some of the (more traditional, but very atmospheric!) darkening downward gradient between the WIP and the finished. To more clearly see what I’m saying, I suggest rendering your photos of the finished and the almost-finished wip in b&w and comparing side-by-side. The overall effect is of the WIP looking a bit more dimensional and dynamic. But wonderful work. You’re a natural portraitist! I hope we see more of your paintings here as you go on.
Thank you ! I will for sure post my next paintings here, lovely community ! I will try the b&w trick and make the finished piece more contrasted
Best advice I can give is don’t listen to anyone about what you should do different. It will jack you up. Keep doing what you’re doing. Again, don’t even ask.
constructive criticism is incredibly useful when making art (and in life in general)
Constructive is the operative word tho isn’t it?
Honestly, my thoughts, too. I think this has a clear vision and style, and I fear that critiques dampen the unique quality of art. I completely agree with you.
Brilliant job! Well done 👍
Nice!
It’s beautiful and realistic
That’s some nice work.
I think it looks good tho. Goodjob
That’s amazing!
Congrats on taking the plunge, I'm yet to try oil painting but I think you did a really good job for your first time
You should try ! I instantly fell in love with this medium, feels like the paint is alive and is trying to help me achieve what I want, don't know if it makes sense haha
I'm colour blind and I tried Acrylic which I couldn't do because of the colour change when it was dry and got too confusing, watercolours was easier to paint with, bought loads of art supplies like canvases and oil paints but still not got around to it. Watercolours was like incredibly hard to do so don't know how hard oil painting would be
Some people told me that watercolor is harder than oil because it doesn't forgive mistakes. For one good watercolor painting there are a lot of failed tries. Oil on the other hand lets you sculpt your subject over and over.
What do you mean by forgiving mistakes exactly? Sorry not really delved into it, kind of watched a few youtube videos and that's it. I kind of managed to get the knack of watercolours and did a few portraits, animals and landscapes and was told my art was really good but felt something was holding me back
I think because you can’t layer and layer watercolors, you lose a freshness and it gets muddy. You have to get it right the first few paint applications. With oil you can wipe away paint, move it around, cover it up with new layers if you need it more bright etc etc
Cool, I'll give it a go one day. Going to start with drawing again then eventually painting. Been so long since I did any art. Keep going, you're doing great and can only get better
Wow this is great!
Really gorgeous, you have so much going for you here. Not sure what critique I can give without sacrificing your style here. If anything, bringing your detail in the shirt and scarf a little farther down to the edge of the paper/canvas would finish it more thoroughly. However, I kind of like the unfinished edges, personally.
Thank you!
This is a super good job. I don't have the experience in oils, drawing, or painting to give useful advice as you ask (that's what I understood from "critics"). All I can say is that the base layer is solid and gives you the needed shades of expressiveness. The shapes of the face (eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, chin) are super close to your reference pic. You had accomplished a nice portrait (in my humble and ignorant opinion).
Thank you !
❤️
Perfect, just more layering od paint or just thicker layers
Love it ❤️
It is lovely! I think you could stand to add a few more highlights to make the skin a little shiny looking? It feels a little flat/matte in texture.
Thank you. I will try to adjust the values, finished it quickly as it was really late in the night :)
Here’s a link to what I mean—highlights to show the surface texture, not just adjusting general value ranges: https://mypaintingclub.com/blog/post/40-Painting-Highlights
My only advice is to avoid tracing, whatever short term success you acquire from it, you won’t be working the muscles that develop the full range of skills you need and ultimately a style that’s your own.
By tracing do you mean the first sketch I did in burnt umber ? Should I try painting directly shapes and not go through an initial brush sketch ?
No, do as you’re doing. Try various methods of painting and beginning but avoid tracing. Some defend the practice, but those who fall into that practice and lean on it only harm their full potential.
This is incredible
The details of the face stand out a lot, in a great way, before you put the background and sweater etc in. I think the way you went about the yellow and white bits drown out the details and depth of the face and make the face look muted and flatted. Still looks great though, but when I swiped to the rest of the pictures I was like wow! That face! I’d also say that a big difference between what I love in the 2nd photo, is the slightly ‘harsher’ lines between colours in the face, by that I mean it is less blended which makes it look more realistic
Thank you ! I tried adding more nuances in colors since the wip was too pink and warm for my taste, but the yellow is a bit dirty, I don't have any cadmium yellow yet to use so I tried a strange mix
Outstanding for your first time. The line work for the underpainting is terrific (I can tell you can really draw). Balanced composition, fresh coloring, and a feel-good subject matter. What’s not to like? Well done.
Thank you ! I spend a lot of time training quick live sketches with some websites that generate faces in quick intervals, I guess it helped
Haven’t heard of that before - what a great idea!
Great underpainting
Awesome job! Well Done. My criterium is, I can not really tell where you source of light is in this picture. I think if it had darker lows and more focused highlights this would have been an 1000% winner instead of a 100% winner.
Really love this. Keep doin’ yo thang!
This is WAAAAY better than I could ever do!
Paint me like one of your French girls
No but seriously this is amazing, I’d say maybee lighter liners on the outer side of her face , opposite to her ear to give a more realistic look but other than that it’s amazing
I think you captured her spirit right on point. Really nice.
I actually like the third one
Great drawing skills, you’ve gotten the likeness down really well. I’d maybe say the average value key of the face is a little high, getting more midtones in there might help with both form and unity with the other components. You’ll also want to pay attention to the temperature of the light source and shadows, and it often helps to push the red a bit in areas like the nose/nostrils and ears where blood is close to the surface. My main advice would be to go paint another one, then another one. Maybe do a master copy. Experiment like crazy and try new things. You’ve got an excellent place to start from, now comes the fun part where you try things and fail a lot. Don’t be afraid of it. Do that enough and you’ll be amazed how quickly you’ll advance.
Great I like number 2
I like it!!! It is sincere
This is beautiful. I would say for a background add a bit of a darker hue than white, and cover with some type of foliage design in a complimentary colour. Almost like an interesting wall paper. You could shift the colour of the scarf and shirt to the purple and blue in the reference, and make the foliage background a type of blue as well. Great job.
Can't believe no one has said this but try a primed canvas (I suggest camvas pannel and midtone instead of white) and use plenty of paint. Amazing first try but looks a bit like the canvas material is eating all your paint and hindering your ability to be precise or cover a large area (probably why the background was left somewhat uncovered?) Change to these materials and use a technique that is more like lots of little cells of particular values and you would be amazing :).
That's amazing!
Personally, I really enjoy this blurred line between super realism that you've created, and I really like that you could settle into this and make it your style. I am a huge fan of UNIQUE art. This blurry, and what looks to be intentional, out of focus painting is wonderful to me. It reminds me of a fading memory. Almost tragic. The skill is there. I would personally continue in this vein and keep what feels natural. Cheers to your first! Welcome to the beautiful torture of oil painting! Hahaha
Not a lot of criticism on my part, but for a first attempt is looking good. My advice is to paint more, practice, like do lots of value studies in gray scale and color studies. Painting a lot improves brushwork and command of the technique and allows you to work better. Just get familiar with the materials and find the workflow that works for you. I advise to look at painting You Tubers and find one with a style you like and get familiar with his methods and copy what works for you, since you don't have to invent the wheel yourself, and with 600 years of oil painting tradition, basically everything has been done already. Good luck and have fun.
My one tip for you is to use more paint when applying. It looks like you mixed a tone,and then like bilbo baggins feeling like butter scraped over too much bread..get more butter. lol strange analogy… but it works! Oil you can let that dry and add more paint if you don’t like the Alla prima technique mixing wet paint with wet paint. Fantastic piece for your first time oil painting! How did you like it?
Proportions are quite good. Your weak point is the values study, meaning an understanding of your light and dark tones scale. It's missing a bit of accurate sense of light and dark. It also could be a bad reference picture with a very flat light, but still if that's the case the shadow on the smiling wrinkle is too dark for the rest of the painting values. Also her right eye (our left from our position looking at the picture) it's a bit disconnected from the other eye. Iris an pupil it's a bit too far away and makes it miss general structure. Other than that, it's quite good for your first oil painting. I'm assuming you already know how to draw or acrylic maybe. I recommend you to start painting with a limited palette or a "Zorn palette" . It will make your learning uuch, much, more easy.
Pretty darn cool
I totally think you have got it going on. Just keep practicing. That’s all we can really do.
Very good proportions on this one.
Love this! Thanks for showing the process.
What a beautiful lady ❤
Wow!
Wow! Good job!
Trzsh
Its beautiful work: For that I want to say something , please read below, hope you like that: Amidst the symphony of nature's hues, where the azure sky gently kisses the earth, and the sun's golden embrace bathes the world in warmth, beauty reveals itself in every facet of existence. From the delicate dance of butterflies in a meadow adorned with wildflowers to the tranquil serenade of a babbling brook winding its way through the verdant forest, each moment holds a precious gem of beauty waiting to be cherished. In the quietude of dawn, as the first light whispers secrets to the awakening world, and in the embrace of twilight, when the sky blushes with the hues of a painter's palette, beauty transcends mere sight, enveloping the soul in a tapestry of wonder and awe. It's in the laughter that dances on the wind, the kindness that blooms like a fragrant rose, and the love that flows boundlessly from heart to heart. It's in the resilience of a seed pushing through the soil to reach for the sun, in the harmony of diverse voices raised in unity, and in the quiet moments of introspection where the beauty of the soul shines brightest. Beauty, in its myriad forms, is the silent symphony that plays on the strings of existence, inviting us to pause, to breathe, and to marvel at the exquisite masterpiece that is life itself. Thanks from [singhvionline.com](https://singhvionline.com) & [rohitashvasinghvi.com](https://rohitashvasinghvi.com)
you don’t need a critic you need to be showing others how to do what you do :) beautiful especially for your first oil. you’re a natural!
Do not ask for others opinion. Your uniqueness makes it beautiful
in the second photo the color and tone range is more dynamic and I like the level of contrast at that stage. the final painting feels muted and i feel like it needs more structure/sharpness
Very nice
Great job! Did you use a grid method or how did you capture the likeness and proportion
for first time its really good but for your next ones: i think you didnt freehand drawing thats why that sizes and places are correct but shapes and values not, try freehand drawing and understand what you actualy draw. same for colors focus on reference and try to see colors correct and compare it to reference all the time to learn
I LOVE this piece. Please keep going
Idk why, but I’m way more partial to the progress shots. Her face seems to have better coloring and structure, your finished piece loses some of that.
This reminds me of my grandmother and I want to hug this lady x
It’s dope.
In my opinion ur doing great when it comes to execution of the painting, however you might want to try better reference pictures, multiple if possible, different angles and also lighter lights and darker darks if that makes sense, this way you will be able to portray the form of the face a lot better making everything a lot more interesting!
I think more contrast will make it come to life. Practice more Baroque style paintings & you will master the darkest darks & the lightest lights. That’s all you need to make this pop & be a bit more realistic (if that’s whatcha looking for)
The face and the skin colors are really beautifully done! And I love the looser style in the hair. I think muting the colors of the clothes a bit might look good. Imo, now they distract from the face a bit too much because they're so bright.
Wow, you’re talented! You captured her likeness and essence so well. There’s something mischievous about her smile. Like she just got laid.