These are real students from my in-person classes. People who: • had never used oil paint • thought they “weren’t artistic” • almost didn’t sign up Go ahead and click on them to see the painting bigger. I am SO insanely proud of these students. Some of them are in this community! 👇👇👇

@Janice Peterson asked for a critique of this painting she has done. She submitted a photo and gave me permission to share this. (I will never do this publicly without your permission.) @Janice Peterson response: 1. MEDIUM: Acrylic on canvas with gold leaf and gold paint. 2. GOAL/MESSAGE: The goal is a calm and relaxing vibe. 3. PRIMARY SUBJECT: What do you want the viewer to notice first? Vases and the reflections 4. STAGE: I think it’s done 5. HER LIKES: She loves the colors. 6. HER UNSURES: She feels the flowers on the branches are off a bit. 🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩 This is going to be the heart of this community. Learning and giving feedback. I will post my input in the comments. I encourage you to give feedback. A COUPLE THOUGHTS for you. 1. Say what you like ❤️ about the painting first. 2. Say what you feel isn’t working but please also give the why. 3. Keep in mind, a critique IS NOT about you liking or not liking the subject matter. This is about the way the intended message is put on the canvas or panel.

Not really sure I understand the contrast part. Would love to see what you would do.

It’s called - A Critique 📈. This fancy shmancy French work to get feedback from someone. It’s a way to step away from the work and get a fresh perspective. We ALL need this. I need it too and I will be asking you for it. Here is HOW we do it. 🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩 Submit a good quality photo 📸 of your drawing or painting at ANY stage of its progress. Answer these questions: 1. What is the size and medium (oil, watercolor, pastel, pencil etc) of this work? 2. Telling us the story of the painting, what is the one thing you wish to communicate? A unique view Just something pretty to look at. An emotion; peace, confusion, unease, calm, connected, understood 3. What do you want the viewer to notice first? 4. What Stage is this work: ☐ sketch ☐ underpainting/block-in/first layer ☐ 80% ☐ I think it’s done 5. What do you love about it? 6. What part feels off about it? OPTIONAL - provide your reference image(s). 🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩🫟🧩 Right now I’m doing a few of these for the community… ✨FREE✨. At some point, critiques like this will be part of the premium classroom. If you ever feel stuck, this is exactly how we move forward. 👇 Alright… who’s brave? Drop your art below and let’s take a look. Messy is welcome. Half-done is welcome. “I have no idea what I’m doing” is VERY welcome. 😆

I cropped the photo to remove some dead space at the bottom (the sidewalk). Did not add any contrast since it already has some shadowing. But completely a beginner so, what ever you think is best!