Mimiwhangata Coastal Park, North Island, NZ

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Comment by Steinunn Einarsdottir on July 9, 2014 at 23:55

Beautiful peaceful looking painting Fay.

It is great to have Michael there to help us "see" better.

Comment by Robin Sage on July 9, 2014 at 7:04

This IS a delightful painting Fay. Michael your critiques this month are invaluable - you are making me look at what I do with very different eyes. Hard to put it all together but getting there slowly.

Comment by Fay Thomson on July 7, 2014 at 19:41

Thank you Michael for taking the time to critique my painting - all your suggestions are so helpful. I have done a lot of changes to this painting already, but I appreciate your comments on the shadows and contrasts which I can see I still need to do some work on.

Comment by Michael J. Severin on July 2, 2014 at 4:41

Hi Fay, great pastoral scene!  Well balanced composition with the heavy weight of the tree balanced nicely with the 2 sheep on the right.  The tree's massive strength and nobility is a very nice contrast to the gentle sheep.  A few suggestions to make this wonderful painting pop!  ...I see that we are in bright sunlight ...but the value of your sheep in the shade of the tree and the sheep in the sunlight, are the same.  Bright sunlight means dark, contrasting shadows ..these could be employed especially in the foreground sheep and their cast shadows.  The shadow side of the sheep could be darker with much reflected light from the sky and grass.  As the sun is from the left, a gradation from warm to cool could happen with the grass  ...from left to right.  You might think of making the fence a little more irregular and open it up somewhere to get us to the distant planes ..the shape of the distant tree on the left is good, the one on the right is not.  Seeing a little more of the distant blue mountain would create more interest.  A beautiful painting Fay ...just a few more contrasts to give us the feeling of powerful sunlight.

Comment by Fay Thomson on June 23, 2014 at 16:36

Thanks Ian.

Comment by Fay Thomson on June 22, 2014 at 18:34

Hi Ian, The painting I did was from a photo our son who lives in Chicago took while home on holiday so I haven't been there myself.  I've worked on the painting quite a bit since posting it and it'll be going in the Tauranga Society of Artists exhibition at Baycourt next weekend!  I'll attach the photo I painted it from - you may know the place from your travels.

Comment by Fay Thomson on June 21, 2014 at 19:31

Thank you Laura and Silvana.  I have done a lot of work on this painting since I posted it, but I really apprecaite your encouraging comments.

Comment by Silvana M Albano on June 18, 2014 at 8:49

And your painting!

Comment by Silvana M Albano on June 18, 2014 at 8:49

Love the scene!

Comment by Laura Xu on June 18, 2014 at 4:44

Fay, this is great!