Using the Putty Rubber to remove excess pastel layers

Maggie has sent me her picture of the young girl starter pack project and has asked for my feedback.Maggie was aware that the ribbons were too prominent but did not want to spoil the picture by altering them. It would have looked better if she had used the 176 brown and a shade less pressure but I agree that erasing them at this stage could make matters worse.Maggie has used a little too much of the lighter base colours this has weakened the stronger colours, if this does happen all that is needed is to use a putty rubber to carefully remove the pastel then reapply the stronger tones. It is best to do a little at a time and I would start with the hair.The eyes appear to be looking to the right rather than looking down - again this is easy to correct by adding a touch of ochre to the bottom of the pupils followed by even less of the dark brown (176). A touch of ochre added to the dress would also liven up the painting, see arrow. Portrait work is always fraught with problems and I feel that Maggie has done really well, by following my suggestions the picture would look even better.If you would like feedback on your artwork, please join our membership.