New drawing
 

I thought I would take the example of Ilaria and post my newest drawing here in the critiques section to get feedback from people who may not want to comment positively on my work.

This is charcoal on paper, about 20" x 16". It is a study for a theatrically themed and lit future work.

I can only bow down Thomasin. Incredibly powerful drawing particularly the figure on the right. The shadow on her nose and eye are masterful.

How about positive feedback? :) I like the drawing and agree with Peter that the shadow on the nose on the figure in the forefront is really well done.

You get a real sense of the theatrical lighting you speak of, and I wonder if the figure in the back would not benefit from some better definition? It feels a little less solid than the figure in the fore...this may be intentional, not sure. The far eye on the back figure is in deeper shadow than the other, yet the whole face shows a near consistent lighting...this reads a bit off to me.

Thomasin, I love the figure on the right, but I do feel the lighting of the figure on the left is not as carefully thought-out--but this may be because you are still working on it. Since he(?) is possibly nearer to the light source but slightly behind the woman, I would expect to see an equal amount of light on him, or maybe slightly less intensity of light if you want to push the illusion of his stepping back in space. The neck and torso seem too uniformly dark (especially in contrast to the face which seems suddenly too light) where actually there might be some light hitting the underside of the neck and chin, and the same pattern on the face. But, again, this might be because it is unfinished.

I think it is important that all the figures in a composition are given equal consideration, whether or not you intend for them to be highly detailed or sketchily indicated, or anywhere in-between. Hopefully this is relevant and helpful. I love the lighting and I am rreally looking forward to seeing the finished ( ;) ) work.

Peter, thank-you for your very kind comments. I am very pleased you like it.

Michael, thank-you also for your positive feedback, and your criticisms. I left the background figure as it is in this one because it was more light than solidity I was aiming for - more the movement of stage light over the form of the face.

Alex, with the light I was trying to keep a bleached feeling to the back face, where the light erases the form to a certain extent. I also felt that the dark was not defined enough as shadow, and somewhat careless, but that it needed to be kept rougher in order to have the fore-figure's details a contrast to it.

I will definitely keep your comments in mind when I work on these things. I think I'll do another version of it or something similar. I want to keep this one as it is for the moment to study the things that work.

Hi Thomasin, this sketch is wonderful like all your work. It's so purely and uniquely you that I don't feel able to critique this. I'm guessing your aim is not to be all that literal here but more expressive. I can only look forward to seeing your end piece.

Christy, thank-you very much for your advice. You made me remember what it was I was excited about in doing this. I always forget my intentions and look at the finished work from a conventional viewpoint. I think I am going to look at Matisse's Le bonheur de vivre (The Joy of Life) (image attached), because he concentrated on colour contrasts for the first time, ignoring conventional, life-like compositions in order to work with the power of colour and composition, except I want to concentrate on tonal contrasts and compostion (I think - I never know where my mind will actually take me).

I know you said you wanted to keep this as is, but I had a few thoughts for the future: What if you lowered the overall value slightly? This would push that figure back. You could still maintain a bleached look by lowering the contrast between light and shadow.

I like this idea a lot. You could keep the sketchy, rough quality and still do the above.

Of course there may be other much better ways.

I was just thinking that you often seem to concentrate your energy and attention on one figure in a composition, the focal point, and maybe spend a little less energy on the others. I think you could bring your work to a higher level if you gave more attention to working through the problems of the secondary figures. I am not referring to lack of detail, which I realize is a conscious decision.

Alex - thank-you for kicking me out of my complacency - you are so right, and I am essential so lazy and so reluctant to work the second figures because of the problems of each figure taking away from the others. I am not naturally a group figure painter, but I think this is because I haven't tried properly. You are such a master at group portraits and narratives! You have touched on a truth about my work - that my paintings seem more like studies rather than major paintings. I avoid making actual statements because I don't want to commit myself to an idea in case it isn't quite representative of my personality and self-image, but this is blocking me in getting to a new level. And I think I really would like to do a major piece on a theatrical theme with a real narrative and a number of legendary of classical theatrical figures doing different things - so do it, Thomasin!