Constructive criticism

I recently uploaded this painting of two fly fishermen on Schoharie Creek to Fine Art America. There are some really talented and successful artists that display their works from all over the world. One artist I have really come to admire a lot is David Lloyd Glover. His paintings are just dazzling with lots of bright color and light. Well, in one awestruck moment, I sent him a comment on one of his recent works and asked if he could take a look at my work and give me some pointers on what he thought I could do to improve. His reply was: "Nicely painted with good atmosphere. However, the main fisherman should face into the composition to direct the viewer into the scene."

I have to admit, in the past I would not have taken such correction very well. I would have thought... well, that's his opinion! I painted the scene as I saw it and that is the way the man was standing! But in reality all along there was something nagging me about this painting that I just couldn't quite put my finger on. Have you ever experienced that? Well he hit the nail right on the head. So I went back to my other photos that I took that day and selected a different shot of the main fisherman. Here are the results.

What do you think? A more pleasing composition? I guess that means we all should be open to evaluate criticism. A wise artist is a perpetual student. Thanks David!

To see David Lloyd Glover art go to: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/David+Lloyd+Glover/all

Due to the extremely high level of artwork submitted to the Bold Brush painting competition, I have thought very carefully about what I would like to enter for January. I recently read an article by an artist that said the painting that you personally have the most to say about will likely have the most meaning and hence, have the most appeal to someone else. With that in mind my choice for January is my "Self-Portrait". To me it is a description of myself looking back over 35 years of my life. Of who I was and who I have become as an artist. There is more that I can say. Ask me sometime. This painting so far has the strongest message and definitely is the most meaningful to me. So, let's see what happens.

Please visit http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/ and cast your vote.

Upcoming Exhibit

The Old Chatham Country Store will be exhibiting my work for the month of October 2011 in their cafe gallery. The opening reception will be held on Sunday afternoon October 2nd from 3 to 5pm. A list of all the artists exhibiting in 2011 will be posted on their website as well as sample images of their work. Just visit http://oldchathamcountrystore.com/gallery.html
This will be my first one man exhibit in a very long time. I need to have at least 25 paintings, so I have a lot of work to do in preparation. I hope you can come in October.