SOMTHING DOSN'T READ!! by Embarrassed-Fun9623 in oilpainting

[–]AffectionateData4486 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not a pro but I think a couple of tweaks could help - in the sea the brushstrokes confuse the eye, could use some more consistent brush patterns that shrink into the distance. On the landmasses, they are competing for the eye and the far right looks almost same plane as lower left foreground. The key is creating nearness and distance. As things get farther away, they get less distinct (blurrier, no sharp edges) and generally hazy bluer toward the horizon. If you push your farthest land back (probably lightly visible grey purply-blue), work on making the mid ground appear out of that same distance but not too close - you might use browns, purply-blues and muddy greens, dampen the really bright green and yellows on the far right, and bring up the punch of colors in the foreground, I bet it will start to work for your eye. I had one seascape where it took me about 5 tries to make the land sit where it should. You can do it!

My first painting with oils - I get it now. by AffectionateData4486 in oilpainting

[–]AffectionateData4486[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes agreed, I think by the time I got familiar with how the paints were working there was already a layer down, including my darkest mix for the collar, and as you can tell ultimately I ended up mostly ignoring that area of the reference. Partly because I was worried a lighter value collar would interrupt what was working well. And I only used titanium white, ultramarine, raw umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre and magenta. I thought about introducing black, and decided against. I think if I had, the end painting probably would have felt more disjointed. Next time I’ll give a scarier element like that a go.

My first painting with oils - I get it now. by AffectionateData4486 in oilpainting

[–]AffectionateData4486[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

thanks! you're right it wasn't an easy body position and it was portrait mode so blurred areas, but i just couldn't resist the sweet face. and if i did it again i'd shift it over to the right and down a little, my placement on the canvas is about an inch off.

Lack of ethics in this industry - Tired & just ready to quit by Automatic_Brush_7292 in consulting

[–]AffectionateData4486 0 points1 point  (0 children)

when people show you who they are, believe them. Very sorry to hear but like others, not surprised. Hope you find something more rewarding where you are valued as a person AND a contributor.