Guilford, CT in Winter. Acrylic. 14 x 18.
Please add any critique you would like.
What a nice painting. The figure makes the whole thing work.
A season is set for everything; a time for every experience under heaven.
Sorry, I put that badly. What I meant to say is that this is a fine painting in and of itselt, but the addition of the figure really puts it over the top. Nice job.
Overall, you handle the shadows and the perspective really nicely. I particularly like the overall color "chill" you've introduced. Also, to me, the figure is just the right touch. However, I do have a problem with the bench, the one that is center forward. In brief, for whatever reason, that front bench leaps out at me, it draws my eye right out. It reminds me of a "big comfy chair"--which of course, just should not be there. The bench nearer to the figure is rendered more successfully for me. Maybe the edges of the frontmost bench are too crisp? Every other edge, whether crisp (house, lamps, parts of trees) or blurred (snow areas, parts of trees, figure), seems "right," but for the bench, not. Otherwise, for me, the painting works very well. I like it.
Beautiful. Nice perspective and mood. I like the way your eye is led toward the back of the woods on the left side and toward the child and dog. I like everything but the bench - to me it is an odd shape and not crucial to the painting. but that's personal opinion. Also the first light post is seemingly sitting on top of the snow -compare this post to the one further back. Again beautiful job.
edit -(I just read the post before mine and it seems that we agree. At first I thought it was a car seat. It also stops the eye from following the shadows of the trees.)
Nice painting. The trees give a nice depth enhanced with the size of the figure. The bench. As we speak I can look out in my yard to a bench piled up with new fluffy snow, although the back of the bench is not showing solid snow as it has railings and the snow has not adhered to it but it does have bits of snow to the top of the back.
If you feel the bench is needed, I wonder, would lightening the look of the snow work? Maybe showing the snow as white on the seat against the blue shadows on the ground? And then I wonder with the shadows on the ground and the light appearing to come from left to right, maybe taking the shadow from the back of the bench again letting the shadow on the ground work for you? The shadow in front of the bench seems a bit askew. I know only too well how difficult it is to separate like colours to have something stand out sufficiently.
I like the pallet you have used.
While I am at this, I want to mention my appreciation with a comment you made March 23 on varnishing paintings. It was about using a cloth to rub on 60% to 40% matte/gloss varnish to a finished painting. I was doing it with a brush watering down the varnish because of the problems in coverage that you mentioned. The cloth bit never entered my mind, and so, belatedly, thank you for giving that tip.
It was very interesting for me to read the comments especially concerning the bench. I was actually very attracted to the bench when I was walking in the park and also the canopy of tree branches. The lonely park bench is actually what caught my eye. It goes to show you haw important it is to get feedback on your work. I don't think artist should change work based on popular opiion but knowing how their work is perceived is important otherwise you are living in a closet.
I attached a chunk of my reference photo of the bench. I put the street lamps on the other side of the sidewalk because I felt that they were too close to center and would have created this strong vertical line in the center of the canvas. Thank you for your comments. It's hanging in a show right now and I'm sure people are fighting over it right this second.
Well, there you go, it wasn't puffy snow ;), and the shadow in front of the bench wasn't askew ;). Thanks for showing the reference photo and sharing your thoughts on the subject matter. Wishing you much success in the show.
First of all, I love the painting!
I wonder if the style of the bench is too modern for its setting? I also paint from photos, and often debate how much realism matters (how true to the photo do I need/want to be). Perhaps a more traditional-style of bench would have provided more contrast, and been more readily interpreted by the viewer?
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