Valerie Kenward-harrison

Tuscan Fields, oil on canvas, 12 x 12" (30 x 30 cm)

Good work Valerie, I can see the effort and struggle that’s gone into this one. The green bushes have all become very similar in size and their layout is echoed by the dark hill behind and then again by the distant hills which all conspires to remove variety from the design—something our brain does automatically because it loves to put things in nice tidy rows so we must fight it constantly when painting. One place I failed in this too in my painting was where I put the tree directly above the figure, which gives the feeling that she might be balancing it on her head. You’ve dutifully followed my poor example so I can’t blame you for that one but it’s a good lesson for us both. I like your lost edge in the mountains, but you’ve muddied and muddled the sky around the tree which negates the recession you gained with the lost edge. Your figure’s good, if a little laboured and too dark in the shadows which cancels out the glowing effect you so carefully created in the grasses there. Also you could have softened some more of the edges of the green bushes to stop them looking like cutouts. Your flowers are good but have become a little muddied around the edges and could do with some grass painting back in to cover some of the greys there and define a few edges. Overall, a good effort with just a few things to look at.