Oh in my hurry to post, I had forgotten my question. I really regret somewhat about leaving the arm patch so "up front" and in your face. I felt the need to have it there due to the fact he is a fireman, etc so I really wanted it there and now---well, now it is there. I personally feel that I need to wrap it around his sleeve more and dull the colors quite a bit to push it back.

If any of you have suggestions as to how I can handle this now. If I actually should take it out completely, I have taken something out like that by lightly sanding with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper. As a matter of fact I understand some do this in between their dried painting process to eliminate the "fuzzy" look that oil can get from every day air fuzzies.

Any comments are greatly appreciated as I am to finish it very soon.

Greatly appreciated,
Patt

This is great! I was wondering is there a way to get a Fireman to do. I have really wanted to do one.

Was just curious!

Mark

Patt

One "last final" note: the shadow under his bottom lip is, I think, too large and too dark. It's suggesting a facial structure that is much less round in that area than I see in the photo.

Hi Patt,

I have attached two pictures, one is an image in which I have changed something in your source-photo. Maybe the original photograph shows these details already but it can go lost in the scan, otherwise this is a way to get more out of certain photographs. I used paint shop pro and used the 'histogram adjustment' to make certain tonal values in the photograph more visible. Nowadays the quality of digital photo-printing-services is very good, one could improve source-photographs this way.

I used the photograph of your painting to show certain problem-areas. I moved the right-eye (for us right) a bit more to the right. (You can see in the vertical white lines there how much it actually moved. He looked a bit cross-eyed to me. The form of the moustache on the left wasn't right I think, See the red line. I missed a bit of hair under his ear. The eye-brow on the left and the shadow of the hat needs some attention I think. Also, the form of skin under his right-eye, as I indicated on your work.

Greetings,
Peter

second attachment...

Okay, one more last final note (seeing Peter's close-ups reminded me of this one): At the base of the nose, the "wing" on our right side bottoms out much lower than the one on our left. That's caused in part by the omission of that form-defining shadow cast by the nose. I'd darken the part of the upper lip on our right, between the moustache and the nose.