I'm looking for honest feedback please thank you

[lauradiant4075]

https://www.facebook.com/portraitsbymeforyou

[CarlOwen]

Good afternoon Laura. It is my experience that people who ask for honest feedback are looking for accolades. So, I will give you honest feed back only after receiving your direct permission to do so. I warn you, it will be honest, direct and maybe sting the inside of your nose and maybe bring water to your eyes. But it will also be delivered with the intent to make you attend so that your work shall improve. So since you opened the door, what say you? Are you seeking accolades or are you seeking honest comments aimed at improving your art?

[lauradiant4075]

yes I need honesty in order to become a better artist. I would rather hear honest feedback than anything! please ! I welcome your visual opinion .

[CarlOwen]

OK. I have visited your website. It looks like you have done a lot of work of a lot of friends and family. Good for you. But I see no development in your work. It is again my experience that family and friends are not any good at telling you the truth about your art. I suspect that is why you are searching and found this site. And, almost all artists either through ignorance, arrogance, fear or jealousy will not tell you what you need to know, except for me. So, here we go.

Your work is flat. Your darks need to be darker and your lights need to be lighter. You need to study anatomy and facial expression. It looks like you are simply copying a picture. Huge mistake. A photo is a reference, it is not an object to be reproduced. What looks good in a photo does not work in a painting or drawing. You get trapped into being a replication robot and you loose the opportunity to capture the character of the subject. You also lose the opportunity to create the illusion of the three dimensional object sitting within that two dimension plane called the canvas. You need to pay attention to proportions within the subject and how that subject is placed next to another subject.

All your portraits look like you are free styling it. It looks like you have developed a drawing technique that starts on the left side of the paper and drifts across to the right side. Masters of old developed the grid pattern to help organize composition and form presentation. In the fury forum look at the 'Let the games begin' post to see what I mean.

You have an innate ability to draw, but it needs development through learning, observing and discipline through practice with intense personal mental attention to detail beyond what you have done so far. I hope this helps you in your quest.

[lauradiant4075]

Thank you for your critique and i will take your advice into consideration

[CarlOwen]

I wish you well.

[eddieblz]

Oh your such a meany Carl. LOL. But I think your wrong about why most artists don't like give critics. Though I do agree with your assessment here. She shows great potential but needs work.
For me personalty I search and view some much art every day and have viewed some much,over the years of my life. I feel humbled by the talents of others and feel I have no place to critique the work they do.

[CarlOwen]

Humm, Eddie, you have a point about fearing to give a critique on artists better than you. If I held that fear I would not even be here. You see, I have done the math using the bell curve formula. I am better than most, equal to some and less than a few. In the real world that means that about 80 to 90 million artists are equal to me or better than me. I can live with that.

It is my opinion that too many artists think they are the center of the universe and it is that thinking that prevents them from claiming their space on this planet and becoming who they are on the inside. Self indulgence, arrogance and self pity gets in the way of personal development. Once you learn that, everything else just kind of falls into place. And, thank you for the 'meany' comment. It means I touched something in you. I hope it was your sense of propriety.

I take the act of producing an object of beauty very seriously. It is such a small endeavor that takes so much personal energy in a world filled with so much anger, and hate. be it religious, political, racial, territorial, just basically, tribal. Good art erodes all that hate and anger, even if only for the brief period of time the viewer is engaged. I could go on, but I feel my shins getting scraped climbing on my soap box. So, thanks for checking in here.

[eddieblz]

Honesty it's not really a web sight but rather a face book page. I have looked at your gallery here also. Honestly your portraits though they do show potential need some work. Your line work looks a little forced and heavy. In other words rather than putting a line down because that is where it belongs, you force a line down because that is where you think it belongs. I can see this because I have the same problem also. This comes from (and I agree with Carl on this) drawing from to many photos and not live 3D models. You don't have to hire nude models to get this practice. When I actually take so time to practice in my sketch books I will go out to a mall or a park, maybe a zoo. We have allot of riparian areas here. I go to those, I'll draw quick sketches people, animals and nature in general. I'm sure you have those types of opportunities where you live.
Now for the doodle you posted up. It was really refreshing seeing you draw a piece like that after looking at your other work. It showed some real creativity and imagination and gave us a look into your real personality. I think rather than drawing family and friends you should explore that avenue of your art more.
Now for your sculptures. Though Carl is probably right that you need to work on studying anatomy a little more. I don't believe that, that is the end all to all art. Your sculptures have a wonderfully unique style to them, for me they are a delight to look at. They have a simple whimsical look to them that fills them with allot of character and personality. Sculpting is definitely your strong point and it would be a delight to see more of them.

[lauradiant4075]

I really do appreciate your insight and the time you have taken to respond to me. it really means a lot. I know my drawings could be better if i took more than a couple of hours to draw one. I have always loved to draw and create things , sculpting is something i absolutely love to do but i only have 1 day off work a week and its really hard to find the time to sit down and do them. I never take longer than a day to complete one of those either. But as for my drawings , I draw portraits of photo's because thats what people have been ordering . Most of them are of their loved ones who have passed on and they want me to draw a portrait of them on a large canvas so thats exactly what they get. I try my best and my customers seem to be very happy with my work and that makes me happy. I do realize that i have a lot of room to grow as an artist , thats why i sought out a site like this. I have never been to art school or even taken art classes . To be honest I didnt even finish high school. I dropped out and got married and by the time i was 20 I had 2 children. I only draw when someone ask me to draw something for them or when the mood strikes me. But I will be 40 next month and i am actually able to say that i am selling my work and I have been attracting more people who are interested in me drawing a portrait of someone they love as well. I just thought i'd share that thank you very much and any more tips you can give me on how to better my work, please dont hesitate to share

[CarlOwen]

Laura, you vex me. You remind me of my daughter who is about your age, maybe a year or two older now. And that is the only reason I am now addressing you. My daughter is a person of worth. I see a person of worth in you, but only when you stop apologizing for living, not making a living, but for just living. You can never claim your right to live, 'just because', nor ever create a work of art that will stand on its own way after you are gone until you look in a mirror and say to yourself, 'I like me" instead of saying to yourself, 'do I look good enough for people to like me'.

You have not understood one word I sent you. I am talking about what you present. I am not talking about nor do I even want to know about your life problems and circumstances. It does not matter. There is not one person on this site or in the world for that matter who has not had the arrows of fate shot at them. I have had my life saved more times than I can remember. I have saved more lives that except for a very few, no one ever knew than I can count. I have had broken bones, cuts and scars going through life. I have heard the 'death rattle' of a loved one held in my arms. I have made life and seen death. It does not matter. So, as you are now holding your breath, read on.

You have ability. You need to set an hour a day practicing and studying. The internet is the greatest library in the world. Youtube is fabulous. You need to stop making excuses. No one cares. Beyond that, you need to feel and know that you have no reason to make excuses. What people care about in art is what they see, what they experience, and what they possibly can possess for their own personal pleasure.

See the attached, attend, study, and know that I am not the greatest artist in the world. Pay attention to the line and shadow variations. Some lines are thick. Some lines vanish. Shadows vary in depth and strength. The one of Sadhu was done in a little over an hour. Live sitting. Two drawings done at the same time side by side on one sheet of paper. Took him about 20 to 30 minutes to make up his mind. My point here is to direct you into stretching your mind into the realm of possibility. If you fear it, study it, then do it.

All this language is about attitude. Once you have self confidence and a feeling of self worth simply because you are alive, you will attend to what you already know what you need to do in order to improve. Hope these comments from a "Dad" help.

[Frank Joseph]

You are in the good way.You have the talent, that is important. Don´t worry, keep up working and your job will improve.

[euroceltic]

I second CarlOwens comment re; improvements.
Best of luck.

[jenn_iam]

Hi Laura,
I checked out your facebook page...in brief, the portraits are nice, but simple. I agree with Carl in the feedback in respect for flatness and in some instances proportions... these areas are where I feel you need to give much thought and practice towards to get out of the rut of repeating from one illustration to the next. There are some, where you have captured an expression that is quite a match the photo, whereas others its evident that the subjects facial structure perplexed you during creation, but you forced yourself to finish the piece on a weak foundation. I have some thoughts or tips to think on...
- You said you draw from photos... that is fine, but don't just draw want you see. Feel the art that you are creating.. It is a representation not of the photo but of the life captured in that medium. Da Vinci once was quoted saying... "Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art". You have to draw the life of the subject. Don't worry about finishing quickly. Make sure you are happy with the framework/foundation of your form. In this case its a face/portrait.
- Practice by looking at people in life, or in photos.. and only sketch the structure.. (NO shading, no feature details). only the skeletal form to make muscle memory of placement and foundation in all poses.
- if you find you draw on the left first. (likely because you are right handed, actually) .. review your sketched work in a mirror (in reverse) before you start the details or the shading. this will assist in training the mind/eye to see the right side, as it does the left and help you translated that back on to the paper.
- sketch your subject many times, before committing to a final work (I realize you are working from a photo.. this activity is more effective when you are conveying an idea that is created in the mind, vs a reproduction from what is seen.)
- sketch & draw often.. even in smaller aspects... such as, just eyes... just ears... just mouths.. just expressions... just men.. just hair texture, etc... doesn't have to be masterpeices each time you sit pencil to paper... just has to be the activity of the practice of drawing.
- STUDY the form...Study and understand light aspects to your subject... Carl is correct, in that many of the works you posted, while on the right track of artistic ability, could be So Much More, if you punched up the tones. don't be afraid to go DARK or leave White.

in the End, .. challenge yourself to do art, not because someone asks you solely.. but because doing so brings Joy to your Art that you can create something that others admire. And have fun doing so.

Next one, share it as you create... each step.. we can provide feedback which will help you refine your already gifted style.