# Need some expertise, please.



## tricky raven

Hi everyone! I looked at a number of art forums and found artistforum the most open and friendly. 

After quite a long spell, I've somehow found myself interested in painting again and I'm struggling a bit with the one I'm working on.

I'm self-taught and work with acrylic and pastel. But I'm having the most difficult time doing hands. I was wondering if someone could give me some pointers.....I'm making it worse as I try to fix it.


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## tricky raven

chanda95 said:


> Lol - not an expert but I can tell you what I see - the first thing I would do is blend that dark line you have running along the side of the hand out a little bit more. I also probably would try to lighten that dark line to where it more closely matches the coloration of the rest of the hand. The problem I see is that it looks like she doesnt have a wrist. The wrist area needs to be narrowed down or made visible.
> 
> I also noticed that her arm on the other side looks deformed. Do see the portion between her knee and her elbow? I would work on straightening out the bottom of that so it doesn't look quiet so broken. Also your hand is again - darker than her arm which sort of gives it a funky look. Maybe lighten up that hand a bit with the darker portions being between the fingers to help differentiate them? To me - the hand on the right (as you are looking at it) needs more work then the hand holding the flower.
> 
> All in all - what a sweet painting/drawing. I love the lighting and her adorable little face!


Thank you Chanda for your warm welcome and honest appraisal. This is what I needed a different perspective. Yes, I agree, the darkness on the hand holding the flower does give it a kind of funky look lol! I'll 'gently' work on that. And I agree the hand on the right is the one that's been giving me so much trouble...it's just that it's so small...I may have to try working between the fingers with colored pencils.

I'm having trouble with the seeing your thoughts on the wrist as it's mostly hidden from her knee and so too is the wrist on the other arm. I do think I understand about straightening the arm.....I need to study this more.

The child in the painting is my daughter when she was a wee child (she's all grown up now lol) ...the adjoining property to my parents house was just covered in lovely dandelions and she was in her glory.


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## tricky raven

Thank you! But right now I'm very rusty! I'm going work on your recommendations and get back to you once their done.


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## corydulos

Ha ha...the poor artist's answer: you don't draw or paint something well or just don't feel like doing it? Cover it up! That's why (in comics) lots of superheroes have capes-you don't feel like drawing Superman or Batman with all those bulging muscles just throw their cape on them.

Like that girl you're painting? If I was painting and having trouble with her hands, "suddenly" a bright, robust bouquet would pop into her hands and....wait...she's _already in a field of flowers??!_

*Bouquet city.* She'd be all wrists.


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## tricky raven

corydulos said:


> Ha ha...the poor artist's answer: you don't draw or paint something well or just don't feel like doing it? Cover it up! That's why (in comics) lots of superheroes have capes-you don't feel like drawing Superman or Batman with all those bulging muscles just throw their cape on them.
> 
> Like that girl you're painting? If I was painting and having trouble with her hands, "suddenly" a bright, robust bouquet would pop into her hands and....wait...she's _already in a field of flowers??!_
> 
> *Bouquet city.* She'd be all wrists.


Thanks corydulos  Love your fun-loving nature and it shows in your artwork as well! 

I may have taken you up on your offer the other day lol! But what I needed was someone like chanda to be truthful and motivate me...and she did! Thanks chanda. 

Painting revised......now for the dress....


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## corydulos

Men have binocular vision; we can fixate on one detail at the exclusion of all else. Meanwhile, with tgeir panoramic perception, women "take it all in" at once...so they see the can of peas in the cupboard the husband would have sworn was not there while women look at a map and see a jumble but meb can carve out a path. I write all this to say that like the prototypical male, I completely focused so hard on the hand issue that I totally ignored the girl's _action in blowing the dandelioni! _Had I noticed it, I wouldn't have made my joke.

And yes, Doc Chanda's diagnosis and prescription was certainly spot on.


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## tricky raven

Hi corydulos, always bring your deeper insights and greater focus to the table, they are always appreciated. 

Ha! And it's true, give me a map and you will most assuredly get lost! ~giggle~


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## tricky raven

Thanks artico!


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## Blue Angel

It is a lovely piece....well done.


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## tricky raven

Thank you so much Blue Angel


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