Blue Eyed Boy by Amanda Green: This is a very good example of interest and rest. I am a figure painter as well. We have always heard that “the eyes are the window of the soul” and they are very nicely handled here. The background is doing its job. It is simple, and its coolness turns on the warms in the face.
Creased and Folded by Betty Jameson: If you are an abstract artist, design sense on the page is all you have. There is nothing else to work with. This painting has good variety in interest and rest. The scale of big, middle, and small shapes feels beautifully balanced. There is a sense of unity in the painting, and the warm dominance contrasts nicely with the minority of cools.
Encore! by Sue Kemp: All of the warm colors are balanced by cool colors in the background, and the big shapes in the background are balanced by the detail on the characters. There is great value control, and the subdued background shows off the light on the puppets. The design sense is good in the aspect of not having the puppets equal.
Late Afternoon Walk, Maine by Eileen Pestorius : I appreciate the painterly quality and the brushstrokes of this work. There is good value control, and the flowers (which are the center of attention) are a complementary color to the greens. This works beautifully. There is a good variety of shapes: big, middle, and small. And the business, the busy quality, is balanced by rest.
Milford by Marsha Reeves: I appreciate the light which is wonderfully accentuated by middle value in the background, which turns on the light and the dark in the nose. I also appreciate the variety in edge quality: some soft and some lost, accentuating the hard edges, which are placed at the center of attention, as they should be.
The Marina at Camogli by Paula Robertson-Rose: The design and the layout on the page are well thought out. There is a good feeling of organization of shapes. I appreciate that the best light is saved for the man in the boat, the center of attention.
Chambourcin by Linda Sherman: There is really, really strong handling of realism in this painting. It is beautifully done. The best lights are on the area of interest and the secondary aspects are subdued. I like the contrast of color and temperature. The grapes are brought alive by the warms surrounding them.
Dusk by Lynn Zwern: I love the title of this painting, which captures the mood of dusk. There is beautiful use of color harmony and value control. The work also has an abstract quality that I appreciate.