In April’s absence, I get the pleasurable job of choosing the Pic of the Week. And it was really difficult – you have all gotten so good! I finally decided on Hal Smith’s Ballerina image. Firstly, the colours attracted me. They are so tranquil and possess a great stillness. This complements the scene perfectly, with the reflection and soft detail. I think the water has been painted extremely well, especially the ripples where the wing and feet touch the surface.

It’s a great example of how a very simple scene can still hold a lot of impact. Excellent work!

Hello all, it’s Jo here, the previous editor of this lovely magazine! I just wanted to drop a quick note to say that April is poorly at the moment and at home. So if you have emailed her and are wondering why she hasn’t replied, it’s because she’s not here!

In her absence, I’ll do my best to approve the images as they come in but if your image doesn’t immediately appear, don’t panic! I promise I will do them when I can.

Bye!

Jo

Hello all. I warn you now – this is going to be a rant-filled post. When you upload anything to this gallery, please, please, please, please, please make sure that it is something you have actually painted. We take copyright very seriously and if we find out that anyone has simply grabbed an image created by another artist and just made a few adjustments, we will delete the image and more than likely delete the account. There will be no exceptions to this rule. If you have any images in your gallery that you haven’t personally painted, I would suggest you delete them immediately.

That’s it – rant over! If you have any questions, please contact April or myself. Likewise, if you find that someone has posted an image that was painted by somebody else, let us know.

Thanks
Jo

It has come to my attention that some members are posting artwork that has actually been created by someone else. Please do not do this. Our website is for people to share the work THEY have created. We don’t care what skill level you are at but we do care that the work in your gallery is work created by you. Anyone who is found passing somebody else’s art off as their own will be banned from the site.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either April or myself.

Despite being described as a portrait practice, I think this is a very accomplished piece and a worthy Pic of the Week. The intense lighting creates a wonderful mood, almost bleaching the features into indeterminate shapes. This makes the eyes all the more powerful, helping the viewer have something to instantly engage with. Be sure to check out the rest of Olga’s gallery – there’s a wonderful image of a peacock!