From the Artist: I was trying to achieve a painting that gave a strong look to the face
without over-emphasizing the features. I've seen pictures like this before, although I didn't consciously try to imitate them; it just worked out that way. I'm fairly ok with the result, although it does make me look very fierce compared to my actual temperament.
From the Painting Guide: Seriously fierce, I'd say. I think it's the expression of the mouth, the dominance of gray around the eyes, and the dark tone of your eyebrows that make you look like someone's just threatened to slash one of your paintings. I think it's a great painting of an expression, and it'd be great to do a whole series with various moods or expressions in this style.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Background: This is very much a personal preference, but I don't like the fact that the dark brown in the background is so narrow, that it doesn't extend most of the way to the edge (particularly on the right-hand side). It feels unfinished to me and I found myself mentally cropping in the edges. That said, cropping does alter the mood of the painting, making it even more severe.
I do, however, like the "unfinished" edge to the bottom of the shirt and jacket. So maybe it's a question of the tonal contrast between the brown background and the rest of the background being too great? Maybe the rest of the background wanted to be a slightly darker tone, perhaps the steely gray of the eyes?
From the Painting Guide: Seriously fierce, I'd say. I think it's the expression of the mouth, the dominance of gray around the eyes, and the dark tone of your eyebrows that make you look like someone's just threatened to slash one of your paintings. I think it's a great painting of an expression, and it'd be great to do a whole series with various moods or expressions in this style.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Background: This is very much a personal preference, but I don't like the fact that the dark brown in the background is so narrow, that it doesn't extend most of the way to the edge (particularly on the right-hand side). It feels unfinished to me and I found myself mentally cropping in the edges. That said, cropping does alter the mood of the painting, making it even more severe.
I do, however, like the "unfinished" edge to the bottom of the shirt and jacket. So maybe it's a question of the tonal contrast between the brown background and the rest of the background being too great? Maybe the rest of the background wanted to be a slightly darker tone, perhaps the steely gray of the eyes?