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Tell me what you think about my latest horse painting!!

2K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  Marlea Warlea 
#1 ·
Hi everyone!! This is my latest painting of my horse Jack and me. I used acrylic paint and pastels on a canvas.Tell me what you think! Please be honest and tell me where it could have been improved. Please note that my hand in the painting still has not been completed, so that's why it looks a little odd.. :D

My reference photo:
Horse Bridle Rein Animal sports Mammal


Half finished:
Watercolor paint Painting Horse Sorrel Art


Jack's completed head:
Horse Sorrel Painting Drawing Liver


Half finished chest:
Painting Yellow Close-up Acrylic paint Modern art


Completed!!
Bridle Rein Horse Painting Animal sports


Detail - Hooves:
Painting Modern art Portrait Drawing Art


- Tree:
Water Painting Art


- Face:
Painting Portrait Art Modern art Acrylic paint


- Body:
Painting Drawing Tree Art Visual arts


- Me and Jack:
Painting Horse trainer Horse Art Portrait



Sorry about all the pics!!
 
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#5 ·
Peppyrox,

Do you want my honest opinion? As an artist? This painting has a lot of potential, but it lacks courage. The first photo show what looks like the beginnig of that but as you go forward, the overall effect becomes blurrier and less compelling. Can you look at it and decide what place is more important than the other and put more strength and empahsis there to help the viewer move into and out of the picture. A painting is not a photograph, so you can take liscence and direct the viewer through the artwork by emphasiszing some more and some less, using strong linear elements or areas that are much darker or lighter than others.
It IS a very nice work and I would never say this if I didn't think that you have the talent to strike out with a bit more bravery.
 
#6 ·
Thanks everyone, and I agree completely with tinyliny about the lack of courage. Painting is not 'my thing' though, I draw a lot more than I paint, but I wanted to try something colourful and this is the result!
 
#7 ·
I like it! but the only thing that i can offer is that you could maybe, around the legs, paint all the way TO the leg, not about 1cm away from the leg? i mean the white bit on the side of the leg (sorry i am very bad at explaining). good work and keep it up!
 
#9 ·
:Dyeah it is :) i must admit, it does look a little odd, but you can't have a three legged horse, right? :-p
 
#10 ·
no you cant! lol :D at first i thought, dude, paint to the lg, but then i saw that it wa sa sock lol, maybe add the TINYEST little bit of grey into the side of it to look like it has a little chading and to make it look like its noit juts the white canvas :D (sorry about my spelling, im typing too fast) lol :D
 
#12 ·
oh no its still looks good! i have a feeling that if you try to fix it, it wont turn out lol :) so when i was looking at it again, i noticed that it does look like the other leg.
 
#15 ·
How long have you been painting as that is actually quite good & with more practive i think you'll go far with it.
You've done fairly well with the shadowing & light areas, which i find is the problem with many people's paintings (the ones that dont do much of it). They tend to put down the obvious color but add no depth or blending.

The one thing i'll suggest is that you put down a base coat first and then add onto it so that you dont get the little white spots of the canvas showing through. I usually have atleast 3-4 layers on by the time i'm finished.
 
#16 ·
Thankyou TinyLiny and Lilruffian for helping me and giving me some tips. That is a great idea to put down a base coat, and I will do that next time :) I have not been painting for long but I have been drawing for 3 years - since I was 12, and I much prefer drawing to painting. Thanks again for your suggestions :smile:
 
#18 ·
I really like this piece, it may not be "photorealism" but it looks like that wasn't your intent. Instead, it has a soft and dreamy quality with pastel colors that reminds me of Impressionism. Impressionism is a style where the focus isn't on hiding brushstrokes and perfect accuracy, but instead on light and color. It's really impressive that this is one of your first paintings. :)

A few pointers that I think you could try out next time is to not be afraid to go dark and to avoid using black. Unless it's night, shadows are never actually black and adding straight black often turns the color to gray (like the gray shadows on the face versus the more lifelike blue shadows on the jeans.) Instead, shadows are often a deeper version of the original color with some of the compliment color (the opposite color on the color wheel) mixed in. Shadows on days with blue skies are also often bluish because while the sunlight can't reach the area, some of the light from the blue sky usually can.

That's all the advice I have, I think the best way to learn is by experience, you seem like you have a lot of talent so I'm sure you'll be able to keep on improving as you go. :)
 
#19 ·
Thank you very much Akuinnen. I had a lot of hesitation about using the black because it is such a dominating shade to use, but my mum said it would look okay, so I did it lol :smile: I think I might have a break from painting and start focusing mainly on drawing for the timebeing because I think I enjoy it more. Thank you again :)
 
#20 ·
You're welcome. :) It was my first painting teacher that had us never use black, I actually didn't even own a black tube of oil paint until a couple weeks ago, lol. Don't let all the critique discourage you though, painting is a little more difficult than drawing because you have to worry about color, but it's a great medium to work with. ^^

Another quick tip that works with any drawing or painting is to hold it up to a mirror every once in a while as you go. When you draw, your eyes get used to any flaws and after a while it's harder to notice when the proportions are off. Holding it up to a mirror reverses the image so you can see it in a way you haven't gotten used to and any mistakes will be much easier to see.
 
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