Overall I was pleased with the feeling I think this painting conveys. Even though there are things about it I don’t like, such as the overworked areas and some shadows that are wrong. Next time I know to work out the shadows more carefully in a preliminary drawing. And to white out and try to start again on any areas that are overworked, because doing so can’t make it any worse than it already is. They’re not working anyway.
The evening I finished this, a friend came to visit and saw it on my easel. His first words were: “Why did you muck it up? Wasn’t it working?” My initial response was to be defensive, then I laughed thinking it just proves that what you like in art is very subjective. One person’s “masterpiece” is another’s idea of a nightmare.
