Spring Congestion

Hey, Jim, it's been quite a while since I've been here, hasn't it? Sorry about the extended absence there. I've been so lazy over these past two months...

Anyway, I was looking through your recent stuff to see if anything wanted critique and this piece caught my eye. Yo're right, it's quite far from your normal work, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing in itself- self-reinvention is the pastime of a good artist after all. This however seems almost too far off to be you. The color revamp is interesting- I'm used to seeing very bright, vibrant colors in your works and this, rather than making me think of bright, happy Spring, brings to mind allergy season. That might just be the title speaking, though, so if that was the effect you were going for, then great job. The colors are just sufficiently washed out for that interpretation to work and though there is no pollen in your pictures, it's an interesting idea.

Of everything, I think the thing that needs most work in this piece is the composition. There seems to be very little attempt at really following any sort of rule, so it looks like a couple of snapshots thrown together. The lower left photo is alright, and the lower right has a fair DOF; otherwise, I think this needs some more interesting angles. Especially for so common a subject.

Nice to see your stuff again. Hopefully I'll have time to come back on a regular basis now.