first post here, but ive been painting for about 11 years of my life and just got my bfa with a concentration in drawing/painting in may. what do yall think of this mural tho?

if I'm being honest, it looks like a forgettable photo collage over a field of dull polygons. the background uses a set of colors incompatible with the foreground elements, causing a cut-out paper doll effect, further emphasizing the photo-copy feel present in both hands and flowers - while some of the individual elements are well-conceived and tightly painted, that feature just vanishes because of lack of cohesion between colors and composition - there is a strong feeling that images were just spilled onto your work surface and taped down to the design wherever they happened to fall - notice the hand on the right is just accidentally making the sign for "gun" because of the flower placed in front of it -

I apologize for being harsh, but you could have done a lot better with this - i'm 100% certain you have a grasp of color theory, but this mural does not demonstrate that fact - i want you to really look at those flowers until you see how photobasic they are - there is almost a complete absence of any stylistic choice beyond the haphazard arrangement of the photo elements - you've got to decide whether youre an artist or an inkjet printer -

here's a basic infographic on color theory https://imgur.com/a/lt8KSP0

here's a post with a dozen links to art resources that will step up your game: https://www.reddit.com/user/Impossible_Quail6789/comments/y5padv/links_to_oil_painting_resources_and_some_stellar/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

i also think Marco Bucci's 10 Minutes to Better Painting series is a must for you

Now listen, I'm giving you the hard love treatment because you put this product on a wall without seeing the problems that you could have caught in the design phase, and because most people will choose supportiveness over honesty in their feedback - Seriously. lose the photo transfer approach, I'm telling you, it's obvious, boring, it gives a weak result, and it murders the opportunity for creativity and style - you should jump at the chance to put your own touch on every element, each individual flower - your other major problems are composition and color - please do yourself a favor and design for color - here, here's adobe color wheel, it's a palette generator that teaches you how to choose colors for their relationships - design with harmony in mind, learn how to choose colors that cooperate ... there's nothing on that wall but color, it's your only real tool, but you haven't given it any thought - composition I just don't know - you have to see that there's no order to the object placement on your wall - you should be organizing your design to create a sense of flow back and forth across the surface, not cluttering objects together - even a simple line of flowers crossing the background would give a sense of connectedness - the background. like, it's so obvious that you had no idea what to put there that you pulled the trigger on something, but you must see the only plausible name for that background is "boxes of acid and meh." that would be a great design for Lego Tron Wars or Mutant Apocalypse Camo, do you see it? My only hope is that was the design on the wall when you got there and you just rolled with it. I'm praying. A gradient of low saturation colors directly related to your object colors would have at least been invisible, instead of disruptive - this is "Hippie Flower Traders Gather Outside the Fortress of Skeletor" Chic -

I'm gonna go ahead and say I'm sorry, in no way do I mean to disrespect you, I'm simply giving you what I hope someone would give me in a like situation - not a pat on the back for trying hard, but an honest assessment of my work, especially in a case like this, where I'm sure you're capable of more impressive work - I hope that you'll grow from the criticism, but I almost don't feel bad, because you can't put this in a portfolio - can you? maybe the gig, but not the design - maybe you'll feel differently - if you land another mural and drop, what, Teletubbies on Vacation in Dumpsterfireland as your color scheme or something, at least you'll be doing it consciously - Truly though, I legitimately hope you succeed - Be better.

And just in case: Look, don't let some asshole on the internet get you down, after all I'm probably eating Cheezits from a punch bowl in my mom's basement, and my penis is a fictional character, and I eat boogers or whatever - there, revenge is sweet and yours ...

/r/painting Thread Link - i.redd.it