Child's Play

Acrylic on stretched canvas 20 x 24
I had fun painting my granddaughter playing on the beach....wondering if I should warm the sand up?

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Comment by Ann Turner on March 22, 2013 at 7:37: I just read the comments from my friends on this site and I had to smile. Its a great subject done well but you could smooth out the arm so she doesn't look like Arnold Schwartzinagars daughter. LOL Happy Painting !

Comment by Arlene Oberg on March 22, 2013 at 7:17: Just back from 2 wks holiday in Mexico...appreciate all your advice guys...I will rework her arm! This beach is at a small lake in Alberta, Canada...so no tides...no large waves...they do rework the beach every morning with a tractor and harrow!

Comment by Trevor Erskine on March 12, 2013 at 6:28: Well Arlene, hope you will accept this grumpy old man as a friend, and I mean it.
Of course it is a terrific painting and so is Rembrandt's Night Watch, but I would have had an issue with him in his young girl in that absolutely amazing painting which I have seen in the Rijksmuseum . Guess he was glad I wasn't around then. It seems that Stuart& Michael, both guys I highly respect, may feel that a little rework on that forearm may improve it. With regard to the sand, I am out on my own, but who knows, mid Atlantic I might be right.
Keep painting with every blessing,
Trevor.

Comment by Michael J. Severin on March 12, 2013 at 6:15: Hey! don't say ..."you guys" ..I didn't say anything ....... I liked the sand!! It's all Trevor's fault.

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on March 12, 2013 at 5:45: Per Michael's and Trevor's comments; little kids this age often have some baby fat still on their arms. I think that this is a little exaggerated by a bit of an abrupt change from the light to shadow on the arm; a little adjustment by widening the half tone to the light side of the shadow would easily fix it in my opinion. It doesn't really bother me that much and I hadn't noticed it. There actually is a fairly strong group of muscles in that area that are the extensor muscles for the wrist and fingers; closer to the wrist there is a concave effect produce where the muscle attaches to the tendons that descend toward the hand. Put a bright light on your forearm and clench your hand making a fist and you will see what I mean. Also, Trevor's comment about the sand may be appropriate for N. Ireland, but the sand along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the U.S. really holds its edges and looks like this when has been wet and starts to dry. I think the sand is extremely well done and looks quite realistic to me. You guys are getting a little picky, and this indicates to me that this is really a terrific painting! Stu

Comment by Michael J. Severin on March 12, 2013 at 5:17: Stu is a surgeon, so he might have a comment on the anatomy of that particular area?

Comment by Michael J. Severin on March 12, 2013 at 5:15: Hi Arlene. I did not notice the developed muscle that Trevor pointed out before ....but I would agree with him ...anatomy wise and artistically wise, it does not look right. The sand ...I am not saying that Trevor is incorrect here, but the look of the sand does not bother me ...the arm does ..now that I am aware of it.

Comment by Trevor Erskine on March 12, 2013 at 4:51: Arlene,
I see I am in the minority here, but that is my feeling, hope I haven't offended you.
Trevor.

Comment by Trevor Erskine on March 12, 2013 at 4:46: Like it Arlene but may I be critical?
Two things, (1)the forearm has an unusually developed muscle, just ahead of the elbow crease. I think it would look better to smooth this out by reducing the highlight and the shade. (2) Perhaps the sand is like this where you are but in N.Ireland the sand would not hold such tiny ridges and would dissolve into softer contours. I think it would improve to rework the darker shadows into a lighter shade and blur them to soften the effect.