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Old 10-13-2002, 07:51 PM   #2
John Zeissig John Zeissig is offline
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Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Alameda, CA
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Old Master

Bravo Will!

This painting has a wonderful "Old Master" quality, and in watercolor no less! If I didn't already know the medium I would never have guessed it correctly.

It's apparent that you used much cooler tones than were present in the reference. On balance this looks like an improvement on the original. The background change is very effective, and really aids the composition. Did you do this because of Steven Sweeney's suggestion?

As you know, I now harbor deep skepticism about the accuracy of what we see on our monitors with respect to the original paintings, particularly regarding colors. With that caveat in mind, here are my (few) critical comments.

I think the value on the upper part of the index and middle fingers and knuckles could be lower. As it stands this is the brightest part of the painting; and while a case could be made that given their orientation and proximity to the light source this should be so, they tend to upstage the book. Given the thematic content of this work, I think the book should dominate in capturing interest.

In the same area, the shirt cuff seems flat and almost an extension of the jacket sleeve. I know the photo looks this way and the painting is very faithful to it, but a little more shadow under the edge of the jacket sleeve and a little more highlight on the edge of the jacked sleeve would help differentiate these fabrics.

Finally, the shirt has a decidedly blue hue, so I think there should be a warm reflection on the underside of the shirt cuff. The subadjacent wood tabletop would be scattering reflected light into the shadow in this area. I think this would help round out the flatness. Again, this isn't seen in the photo, but, hey, the photo looks wrong here too!

I've got to say, Will, I really had to scrutinize this work to come up with those criticisms.
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