Lady of December Comparison

NEW version on the left, ye OLDE version on the right.

I realized after finishing this painting in a big rush before Christmas that I was unsatisfied with it. I had about two weeks to work on it and in the end it just felt 'dead' to me. I completely repainted the image only to have the file get corrupted, then found myself having to completely re-paint it one more time!

I'm very pleased with the results after all is said and done! I think I've managed to bring a stronger silhouette to the figure with a stronger sense of lighting and mood, overall. I colorized the lines of the windows so that it would stop fighting for focus with the figure's face, along with many other minor, yet important tweaks. I also did more careful consideration of how to balance the colors in this image by using the Color Wizard to figure out a proper color scheme for this painting, since I felt the colors got away from me in the end, which contributed to the 'deadness' and everything fighting for focus.

I imagine all the wonderful things I'm learning about composition and focus in my Painting Drama class are starting to rub off! Sometimes less is more, when it comes to details in a painting. Thanks to all the students who helped me with their critiques during the live session. It really, really helped me out!

You can see the final painting here: