2nd place...

Okay, I just have to say that I really really love this piece. It caught my eye right away when I went on to my deviantart messages and found this in the gallery messages. I was definitely going to leave a fave, and a comment, and seeing that you asked for a critique, I figured this is the best way to leave a meaningful comment! ^^ Here we go!

Vision: I gave you 5 stars, because your vision in this piece is really clear, or at least to me it is! ^^ I like the fact that she is so sad because she came in 2nd, that shows Dashies true feelings of being a competitor!

Originality: I gave you 4 stars, simply on the fact that I've seen pieces similar to this, where all it is is a headshot/portrait. The thing that makes your piece really original is the way you executed it. The lighting, vibrant colors, and the expression, really went hand in hand making this quite original in your style. Good job by the way, your style is really good! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" data-embed-type="emoticon" data-embed-id="391" title=" (Smile)"/>

Technique: I gave you 4 stars on technique because I found the way your painted this was really well done, in fact I can't find too many faults in the way you executed this piece except for one thing... and honestly I feel a bit hypocritical because I do this all the time! XD I think that the places that you added in the most darks are a bit too dark. They seem nearly black, I think that if you had chosen a color that was a bit lighter, and had some saturation or hue to it, it would look a bit better. The one other thing that I noticed is that her eye looks like there is almost another expression there. In her eyelash there is a hint of blue, and a piece of black that extends to the left of her eye (facing the viewer). I see two expressions there, but the predominant one is much more noticeable, in fact I nearly missed the other expression until I really looked at her eye and saw it. Those are the only things that I though was off, the rest of your technique is spot on, keep up the great work! ^^

Impact: I gave you 4.5 stars on impact, because I loved your entire piece! It really was an eye grabber, and I just had to click on that thumbnail to see this thing more clearly! I loved everything from her vibrant mane, (and good job on the stray strands of hair, that added a lot to this piece), to her expression, to her silver medal that pushed the meaning of this piece! I really enjoyed checking out your work here, and can't wait to see more from you! Once again, keep up the great work you do, you're a wonderful artist! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" data-embed-type="emoticon" data-embed-id="391" title=" (Smile)"/>