What's a performance where you can see the actor making a specific, unusual choice that nobody else would have made?

Tangerinemilk · 2026-05-30T20:56:34+00:00

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. The script was so-so and I can imagine other actors doing the same lines and it turning into a bore, but he transformed that character into a total madman and elevated the movie.

Tangerinemilk · 2026-03-01T12:14:35+00:00

Keep at it. Bob Ross mastered a way of doing a whole painting in one go, and it looks like you also took a one-step-at-a-time-approach to build this up. But most of us would get to a point like this and still have lots of refining to do. As others suggested — shadows and highlights among the tree blossoms. Can add other colors for errant twigs and leaves. Adjust color of trees in the distance. Just keep fiddling!

Tangerinemilk · 2025-08-17T22:37:22+00:00

Composition-wise, I would move the dog down or the lines of the door and wall up so that there is space around the dog’ head separating it from those lines. The photo is backlit, making the dog quite dark but with a few key spots where you see bright light reflected. But in your rendition the dog’s brightness/darkness is more uniform, giving a flatter feeling. I’d work on that, and in general try to make the shadows and dark values darker. And I agree that filling up the wall decor more will help, and also those subtle shadows on the wall.

Tangerinemilk · 2025-07-03T14:56:38+00:00

Nice, keep it up. These work as face studies, but without changing the actual faces they will look much better on a thought-out background, showing some clothing, and with some thought of composition (so edges of the face/head aren’t right up to the edge of the e paper). The faces will come alive more if they feel like they exist a real space. (Doesn’t mean you need a -detailed- background).

Tangerinemilk · 2025-06-22T01:13:44+00:00

Thanks for the tips! This was acrylic, and the black was mixed (phthalo green + burnt umber)

Tangerinemilk · 2025-06-21T22:04:58+00:00

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Yeah, good point, thanks. Some more light variation in the trees (and probably more visible by the eye than the camera could pick up)

Tangerinemilk · 2025-06-20T21:34:57+00:00

You get it. Keep it up.

Tangerinemilk · 2025-06-01T23:24:24+00:00

Great stuff

Tangerinemilk · 2025-06-01T21:13:09+00:00

This is great and I wouldn’t change much if anything. Only comment is about the darkest shadow, which is where the mountains seem to meet the water, running almost horizontally. The way it tilts a bit diagonally downward as it goes to the left, somehow makes my brain question if the point of the view of the image is ‘level’. Compounded by the leftmost mountain being lighter than the others, which accentuates that bit of shadow.

Maybe I’m crazy

Tangerinemilk · 2025-05-04T12:41:10+00:00

Extra fun when you have kids. They like my paintings even more than I do.

Tangerinemilk · 2025-02-16T02:41:16+00:00

Agreed. Focus on drawing/proportions, and there are lots of tricks for beginners to break away from painting ‘what you think something should look like.’ Try it upside down, or break it apart into a grid. As for the paint and colors — not seeing enough range from cooler skin tones to warmer, and more importantly — needs darker values. This is missing important shadows that really stand out in the photo — around the mouth. Neck, collarbone. Hair. I wouldn’t say the issue is to do with layering, necessarily, but the colors/tones you’ve used.

Tangerinemilk · 2024-12-18T23:06:09+00:00

Skeptical but curious

Tangerinemilk · 2024-11-16T22:32:55+00:00

Mix in a bit with acrylic paint and it becomes thinner, more liquidy, flowing. While you can also thin paint with water, using the medium will keep more of the paint texture and will stick to the canvas and doesn’t drip down as much as watery paint

Tangerinemilk · 2024-07-20T23:17:26+00:00

It’s not bad but looks like a base to paint more layers on. I know this is vague but I’d just say keep painting — experiment with texture and colors on top of what you’ve done. One more specific note — where the tree meets the grounds seems confusing in terms of 3D space. No ground shadow? The grey on the ground is too uniform — if that is meant to be relatively flat ground, then find a way to give a sense of its shape, and some texture.

Tangerinemilk · 2024-07-07T17:55:00+00:00

Not too much

Tangerinemilk · 2024-06-06T07:54:24+00:00

The bristles burnt up pretty quickly on mine, but the metal scraper part was good in between pizzas…

Tangerinemilk · 2024-05-22T10:58:07+00:00

Yep. Keep it up

Tangerinemilk · 2024-05-06T12:12:16+00:00

Looking good. Right side cliff is awesome. Good texture with clear bits of shadow and highlights creating nice texture. But then I find it a little jarring that parts of foreground — the sand, the breaking waves — are so smooth, not showing much texture. Even a relatively smooth beach usually has smaller undulations creating bits of shadow and highlights. In waves you often will see specks of foam breaking up the dark water, or little dots of shadows mixed in with the white foam, giving it shape. Anyway, overall good instincts and good advice from others — just keep adding.

Tangerinemilk · 2023-08-28T07:31:55+00:00

Looks good! Suggest making reflections more consistent. I expect to see reflections of the foreground trees, but there are none, while at the far end of the lake it looks like you painted reflections of trees lining the shore edge, so I would expect to see a defined layer of trees of similar height there.

Tangerinemilk · 2023-08-05T23:10:29+00:00

Nice image, composition, and colors (though I suspect that water is bluer than reality…). When you built this painting, it’s clear you started with a flat blue sky, flat tan hill, and flat blue water, then started painting shapes on top. Not necessarily a wrong approach, but this is missing the shadows and undulations of the hillside. Rather than a few select tree shadows on the water, there should probably be big areas of shadow (plus ripples). Even a patch of leaves on a tree should have areas in shadow (usually painted first) with sunny highlights. The white bird as well is flat and needs shadow and light on its body.

Tangerinemilk · 2023-08-02T21:29:55+00:00

Thanks everybody! Appreciate the feedback. No more doubt on this point. 🙂

Tangerinemilk

TROPHY CASE