Research Oil paintings

Even though I'm far, far from creating  decent works, I'm starting to enjoy painting. The dove looks more like a duck, but I like the plumage. I like how the stars bring out the angel, which I also like. Since I have been practicing, I have not been worrying much about connecting the color throughout the piece. In reality, there are too many colors here.

As someone with a mind that tends to latch on to a thing to study, and never let it go until there is nothing left of it (like my first style... I took it as far as I could, and then stopped) , I can't force my desire to study it, or I will lose interest. I want to get there, but I haven't been forcing it on myself. This is why. 

Finally, i am getting there.

What is working:

The stars are painted in a way that the paint looks rough. I like this look.

What is not:

I like the angel's wings and the green and red splotches that make them, but not exactly with proper placement, but the paint in the angel's body, even though I like the shape, is disconnected and awkward. It is not smooth and it needs to be. It can be smudgy, but needs to be smoothly smudgy.

I could have made the crcles behind all the stars, and make them less saturated and closer in hue to the star, yet lighter in value. Beyond the circles the hue becomes deeper, more saturated, and lower value. This has nothing to do with the common misconception of a 'haze' around the stars. It is done to make the stars have depth and look like they are hanging. 

What is working:

The dove's plumage is nice wheras I used white and mixed it on canvas with color. This created a depth of the plumage I liked, yet it still had that unreal fit.

What is not:

The beak is way too large, and needs to be whiter, and less colored. Because of my choices, it looks like a duck instead of a dove. The dark eye is fine because it should not look real.