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Art Critique |
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Critique |
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THINGS I REALLY LIKE 1. The color choice for this rose is quite nice. This is an excellent example of making an analgeous color palet work for you. 2. The drawing is well done. This is often an area where artists struggle. A good drawing is necessary in order to accomplish a good painting. 3. Your use of veins is in the flower is effective. 4. You have done a great job of blending colors into each other. 5. There is a nice variation in the saturation of pigments that you’ve used. |
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About the artist … Pam is the manager of a medical practice and after many years of focusing on family, husband, and career, she has decided it’s time to return to painting once again. One of her more recent projects is this wonderful rose. I’ve included a picture which was the basis of her painting. |
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Watercolor Painting by artist |
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Photo by Pam Utton |
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Painting by Pam Utton |
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Computer edited version of watercolor by Pam Utton |
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Computer edited version of watercolor by Pam Utton |
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AREAS FOR POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENT The planning stage of any painting is without doubt the most important stage. We should consider 3 things—contrast, color, and composition Your use of contrasts — are there light areas as well as dark areas in your painting. A very tedious but effective exercise is to paint value charts for at least the 3 primary colors. At least 9 values for each pigment can be achieved by mixing with either water or indigo. Your painting should have a good balance of all 9 values. I see a lot of midtone values in your painting, but not a lot of lights and darks. Other contrasts to consider are hard edges and soft edges, and the degree of saturation. |
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Color— There are lots of dark crevice areas in a flower that need to be made look like deep crevices, particularily with a rose as the petals are deep. If you paint the rose with the light striking it from one direction or another, it will add to the interest of your painting, allowing for light areas (the white of your paper) as well as dark areas of shadow. In my computerized edit of your painting, I’ve tried to illustrate what it might look like if the light was hitting this rose from the right. I’ve darkened some shadowed areas, particularily on the left hand side of the rose where the light doesn’t hit. Your painting could incorporate both form shadows (areas that don’t get direct light), as well as cast shadows (darker areas caused by an object blocking the light). You’ve painted a stem to your rose ad you might consider painting some leaves as well. The stem works as a lovely contrast to the reds and oranges but you might a little bit more of it for balance. Composition—The overall composition of the rose is good. In this case, I feel you need to strengthen the focal point. This can be done in a few ways. Often we find the lightest area surrounded by the darkest darks around the focal point. You could incorporate a complimentary color area into your painting or you might want to strengthen the effectiveness of the veins, leading the viewers eye to the focal point. |
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One last suggestion I have with respect to composition would be to be careful not to “float” your subject. Running your painting off the page adds much more interest to the painting because it leaves areas for the viewer to finish themselves. When setting up a composition I consider the focal point and try to place in somewhere in the painting following the “rule of 9’s” I’ve cropped your painting in this last computerized rendering to illustrate how effective that is. You have a lovely painting and I wish you many successes as an artist. I hope you’ve found this critique useful. Happy Painting ! … Joy |
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“Art Critique” is a Fees Based Service provided by Joy Skinner Here’s what you get for $95: Written Critique Computer edited version of your painting emailed to you, 10 minute telephone conversation to answer any
Contact Joy to make arrangements for a critique done of your painting. Email joy@joyskinner.com |
