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masaad — White Swan
Published: 2011-04-03 15:44:25 +0000 UTC; Views: 2712; Favourites: 84; Downloads: 72
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Description
White Swan Done completely in Oil on Watercolor paper took about 2 - 3 hours didnt work much on it but turned out pretty good i guess
Prints of this Painting is available at [link]
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Comments: 32
Hi there! I’m here on behalf of #Traditional-Artists to make sure you get all the feedback this piece has received at our last Critique Night!
I hope it is helpful and you can use it for your future works! 
“The first thing I notice is your technique - Oil on watercolor paper. Wow! That's a bit of a gamble. I'm sure you noticed how oil reacts to porous paper! I would suggest using oil paint over a gessoed surface on your next try. The rounded shape of the swan is best represented by shading light to dark around the figure, but you painted white again near the water's surface. The darkest shadow should be furthest away from the light source which it looks like is behind and above the animal. That shadow under the swan's neck shows really good observation, it really looks like a reflection. However, the other white streaks across the water's surface are less convincing. If you look at water ripples in the sun, you'll notice the white reflections are more distinct. I do like the beak, it definitely looks like a swan beak shape and color. When you use one triangle of orange in a composition, your eye tends to go there so what I remember is always put some of that color somewhere else.All told, a good representation of the both subject and environment. Keep observing nature and how light hits different surfaces: Rounded forms and water.”
“It's a good start but it could use some work. I love the colours you use to depict the water, it's very dynamic. A good way to make the painting look more mature is to vary the brush strokes directions, instead of having them all go one way. It'll add more visual interest to a seemingly flat surface. Adding some notes of white to the reflection would help it seem a little more realistic. The background could use a little more depth so there's some sort of horizon point, instead of the swan floating in an abyss. In a nut shell, use more confident, broader brush strokes, and I think the tone you're trying to convey in this piece will come through more clearly.”
"Wow, how unusual to see oil on watercolour paper! I wouldn't have thought that it could work out this well. The stark contrast between the swan and the muddy water is beautifully done, it nearly looks as if it was glowing. At the same time it doesn't look flat, good job here! Painting white things is always a challenge. I'm not sure about the shadow/reflection though, I can see that it is swimming and so it would not be entirely straight, but something still bugs me about it. There's the edge in the shadow's head which I can't explain, and the way the rest of the shadow doesn't seem to be much affected by the bow wave strikes me as a bit odd. From the shadow it seems as if the bird was standing still, while the waves suggest movement, and I can't get the two together. Apart from that - the water is done beautifully, you really managed to achieve depth here, and the colours are lovely. Maybe it's a tad too light at the tail, but that might only be my personal preference. A beautiful piece!"
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Thanks these were really helpful
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Woah! That's beautiful! Reminds me an one of Amorphis songs "White Swan" and the tales from Kalevala.
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Apologies! Here is the right link:
You have been featured in
NEW IN OUR GALLERY IV
[link]
presented by
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Artistic Expression
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It's a very good fast work, i like the free hand effects on the water and the reflection.
Beautiful strong light on the white Swan
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You're very welcome, i like this work
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This is really nice, love the contrast between the swan and the background!
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Really gorgeous... I like how you made the background swirl-y like water
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