It was a tumultuous process to even get it to look this decent. While there are many aspects that I enjoy, such as the use of color and varied texture, I still have some slight reservations about the piece. Those reasons are the figures. They are, for the most part, not well executed. While they are unfinished, the current direction they are going in is too stiff, they lack fluidity. There are aspects of the figures that I like, such as, the poses. Am I contradicting myself with those last two sentences? A little bit, but allow me to explain.
As stiff as they are, the general pose/stance is what I imagined them to be. As I fix the painting, I plan to add more movement into their respective poses to make them appear softer and more cohesive with the rest of the composition. Another aspect that I enjoy is the texture of the man's shirt and the texture of the top of the woman's dress. I have found that I very much enjoy emphasizing texture while painting. Even if I have not fully found my style in painting, I have found myself incorporating texture more and more. To me, adding texture helps create more visual interest. Color can already create visual interest but adding texture can help create more dimension.
A low point of the figures is definitely the skin tones. I had no idea what I was doing (and that's okay). In college, my professor did teach us how to mix skin tones in very informative lectures. However, there is a very big difference between learning it and doing it. My goodness was it frustrating. I still find it frustrating to mix up skin tones but I am beginning to grasp how to properly mix them up.
Moving on...
I have to admit that I find the composition to be unbalanced. The sunset is very saturated and bright. It is full of textures and color variation. But for every bright corner, there is an equally dark corner. See the bottom right of the painting?
DUN DUN DUN
Anywho, there was no reason for that.
The bottom right corner doesn't necessarily lack the color variation of the rest of the painting but it does lack a significant amount of texture. That section is definitely satisfactory on its own but when put together with the whole composition, it looks a touch out of place.
Those are two pretty terrible pictures of those areas, but we persevere.
I am happy and satisfied with how the sky and sunset turned out. So much so that I plan on leaving it alone. The bottom left corner though...don't like it. It needs more texture. More color. I think I will make a little flower meadow there. Or I won't. Who knows until I sit down to actually fix this picture. Again, this section is fixable, like the figures.
- The figures - refine the poses and skin tones
- The fence - it is one solid color. What wooden fence is one solid color?? What went through my mind when I painted that?
- The tree - the leaves are very bare and kind of sad looking. Add more leaves, make the tree happier
- The bottom left corner - add something to make it less bland (like more texture)
~Piper Louisa