there's something about the lack of detail incorporate in the hair that bothers me. i say this because the details pale in contrast to those illustrated on her clothing and jewelry. the embroidery quite literally overpowers everything else.

there's also something incredibly puffy goin' on with the eyes. they look like water sacks quite honestly, gettin' ready to burst. the right eye itself seems awkward.

still a beautiful peace. could be better though

*edit* oh yeah, welcome to gfx ^^

Ok, I understand where zeekgfx is coming from but I'm not going to write a flowery novel about it...the details in the embroidery perhaps need a minor depth of field applied so that the whole is not all in focus....this would translate better with the hair issue brought up. As for the eyes you leave them alone...they retain and capture a very nice sense of sadness that no constant fiddling could improve...tying things down and spending forever on living detail can remove life from a piece which I think you've stayed nicely clear of...

Just for artistiv liscense thou, I would've made the gap in the top of the hood alot smaller...even thou her hair maybe in a bun holding it up

Take care and welcome to gfx

p.s.Andy I'll see you at the cafe' at lunch...

Andy, you're kiddin'! 7 hours you say? Incredible... Although I agree with the crits above, I give this +7.

Looks like you picked out Aishwarya Rai - the Indian Supermodel/Actress

I like this piece except I think you could work with the color more. Not change it, just make it more consistent. I am looking at it with a pretty reliable monitor and the reds especially look a bit over saturated. Especially on the right side of her face, it almost looks like she's got a strip of sunburn. Then it goes to a pretty saturated yellow and then to a pale yellow across to the other side of the face. Also, the strip of red in the part of her hair just stands out too much in my eyes.

The details are amazing in this piece and her expression is just perfect. Great job.

Not my thing, but the embroidery work is superb. You must have the patience of a saint. Nice job.

Great Pic! Love the use of golden colors...

beautiful work awesome details, and so sad, ready to cry.. very lovely..

welcome to gfx ! i look forward to more of your work in the future

Very nice. The showl is extremely well done.

Great work!!!

I like it...

WElcome !

Nice details in the clothing, but you should work more onthe face so it's at least as clear and defined as the embroidery. Oh and, you should move this to the "Painting" category. You even used word "paint" yourself.

Those corneas (the clear covering above the iris and pupil) looks like the pictures I stared at in horror at the Optomoligist's office a few days ago. The corneas are a bit misted over eh? She looks sorta blind like a soothsayer. Id like it if they were more glowy or darke, whichever.

It's amazing.

As you know Andy we have had many discussions of this image - I personally am in love with it. Okay, it does have minor flaws that have been picked up on above; but I am no high level artist and so cannot hope to come up with answers to them. But for me, it is what the image says to me, the areas that you have explored with it that are important to me. "Wondering" says it all - what is this woman wondering about? Who is she wondering about? Is it a slight touch of fear we see in her eyes - is her husband late and she does not know why? Or is it she is wondering about freedom? Is this image an expression of wondering what it is like to be outdoors - the outdoors I can see reflected in her eyes? This then makes me wonder about her religion - is she one of the beautiful who are bound by her religious duties to cover up outside and is that what she is wondering about - to be outside, with her face uncovered as she is now? It makes me think about so much and each thought leads onto another.

My wife is Indian and you have captured the Asian features beautifully - the clothing in real life is so intricate that I thought it would be impossible to recreate; but you have - and on a computer too! How I will never know.

All artists have their faults and idiosyncrasies - Michealangelo's "Ark" on the Sistine Chapel was too small when it finally viewed from the floor - all you can do is learn from the errors and improve. Thank you for doing this Andy.

The original picture I based my painting on was from a photo I found whilst on the web so the story behind the image, if there was one, will belong to the photographer.
My theory is it's a wedding photo and the woman is wondering about her future as a wife and future mother. I think she's emotional but in a happy peaceful way.
I`ll credit him or her if I can find out their name but at the moment it's a complete mystery

Thankyou again for all your comments. They've all been very helpful and interesting to read.

I don´t care what anyone thinks or says - this is almost LIFE LIKE! I don´t think I´ve seen a painting done so well using photoshop and keeping to a singleset of brushes! I give this a 10+!!! It would make a wonderful poster AND I´d buy and hang it too!

super +9

Just to correct the story behind the original: This woman, Paro, is in love with her childhood friend, Devdas. While the 2 hoping on getting married with each other the mother of Devdas doesn't approve of Paro (thanks to some badmouthing done by her other daughter-in-law) and therefor rejects the proposal made by Paro's mother. So, by order of her mother, Paro went on to wed a widower while still in love with Devdas and that's why she's sitting like this, thinking in sadness... (story goes on and on)

It's a classic Indian tale about love, much compared to Shakespear's Romeo & Juliet. But this is an unique story, bares no comparison...
It's called "Devdas".

I`ve not heard this story before but it fits the picture perfectly!

This is wonderful

Nacho is right...

I've seen the Indian movie and God! This actress is so beautiful

Check out Steve Newport's works...he's got paintings of her too...

Very well done dear !!!