smudgepainter

Started with Fred's (what else??) sweet portrait, borrowed a head ornament from Vermeer, and smudged away. Here's the result.



And just for reference, here's Vermeer's version of my smudge.



C&C please (not for the Vermeer, though ).

-- Marty

Wow, you did a wonderful job of placing the "head ornament"! The shadow and highlights are great! The only suggestion I have is maybe smudge her eyes a little more to soften the hard edges. Jo

Wow! Breath-taking Marty.

Great work Marty

Palms

Just beautiful Marty!
I'm not sure about the eyes though Jo.
You are right, they are not as soft as the rest of the painting.
But they kind of grab my attention. If they blended in more I think you would lose that effect.
Just my 2 cents worth though. Either way Marty, it's fabulous!

Oh Wow! Just stunning Marty, you did a fantastic job!

Hi Marty

What a great smudge and texture.
If i where to point something out it would be the lips.
They could have done with being a little more smudged but this is just my taste, the smudge still looks great.

Ronnie.

Thanks to Jo, Eda, Palms, Jordan, Angela and Ronnie for looking and for your generous comments. I REALLY appreciate your words.

Not surprising that specific comments were made about the eyes and lips, the two key features of this (and most any ?) portrait. They're the magnets that draw our initial attention to the image. For this reason, I don't skimp on the effort needed to make them as "perfect" as I can. Whether they're undersmudged or not here, is a judgement call. We'll have as many opinions as there are viewers. I'm just pleased that you've looked, thought about what you saw, and taken the time to offer your comments.

Thanks again!

Best.,
-- Marty