Thank you for the email link to this video. This is my first time watching the members minute. I thought the art was beautiful. I would be very pleased if this was my art. I definitely learned a lot from your critique. When making art sometimes it feels as though I forget all of the things I have learned. I would of done things very similar to Mary (sticking to the reference exactly as I saw it), but with experience such as you have (and we all hope to learn) a piece can be more successful if we add more value, complimentary colors, and contrast to our art. Also, the flow of the piece. I have seen other artist describe the composition or flow of the piece as you had with the triangle. I have been serious about art for a few years now and am still learning new things. I started out just sketching and then trying different art mediums. I can say it is a great journey to be on. Mary thank you for being brave enough to submit your art.

Hello Mary,

First thank you for sharing your artwork with us. Your chimpanzee brightened my day! He/she looks like it is a baby and it would be fun to just cuddle him/her.

Matt’s critiques don’t only help you but all of us. Mary, your artwork I learned so much of working with pastels. A medium I would not comment on as this is one of the mediums I find turn out amazing artwork, I just have not found the success as you have here.

I did have a couple of other ideas. Many photographs of chimpanzees they have a long stick or straw. They are used to scratch their ear or chew on., Also I could see a banana or other fruit. Your chimp looks like it could take a bite out of a banana If I picked a flower as Matt suggested I would pick a dandelion. Maybe with a few of its seeds flying off the top corner, but just 3 or 5.

I do hope that if you make any corrections that you will share them with us so we can see more of your adorable cuddly chimpanzee.

Teri (Artsy)

One thing I will mention because it has to do with my “relationship” with the image. Obviously, I was working from a photo. The photo, obtained online, extended the empty green space much further to the left than I drew and I cropped quite a bit off in preparing my reference. You recommended cropping off even more and while I explored that possibility, I rejected it for a reason. I saw the chimp looking over its hand and off beyond the picture plane, either to another chimp or to a person. The raised hand to me appears to be a beckoning to this unseen other to “come here”. Perhaps that is fanciful of me but chimpanzees are very relational and so I stick by my interpretation!

Thanks again. I always consider it an honor when you critique any of my art.

Mary