"Leda and the Swan" by Cristina Marsi

Hey, there is a lot that I do like about this picture and it looks like you put a lot of time into it but there’s also a few things that are a bit of, firstly the way her left (her right) breast basically runs straight into the underside of her arm, secondly the wide shoulders which give a masculine feel, they should be further in and covering the side of her body where her ribs are, also some of the shading looks a little odd, the lines going towards her belly button from all angles look odd and out of place, also if you are going for beauty here which I am assuming you are then for women a toned stomach will look nicer rather than cobble stone six packs, also her thighs look a little short and the muscles in her legs look overly developed, I understand some of this may be to indicate that she is a goddess but some of it is just strange. Anyway sorry for the abnormally long crit, there is a lot to like about this picture, the swan is beautifully drawn and you've handled the water and background nicely.

Cristina Marsi replies: "I totally agree with your CC so I've tried to fix as much as i could. I hope this new version is better "

The anatomy is not perfect but the background, the trees, the grass, the earth and, most of all, the reflects in the water are gorgeous. I love the swan, too.

I agree with Alex on just about everything Cristina, there is indeed a lot that is good in this, I especially love the water and the skin tones. The contrasts are superb, loads of shadow and lots of highlights, that really makes it a luscious painting.

Despite the anatomy issues (nicely softened by a lighter shading), you've painted a very beautiful and poetic picture. Bravo!

Alex...Leda was not a goddess...she was human. The Swan is Zeus in disguise. The only thing missing are the 4 children ’hatched’ from 2 eggs. The painting is beautiful, and depicts perhaps the moment after the mating of Leda and Zeus (Swan). I love the water reflections, and your colors. We are studying this poem and painting now in an online Si-Fi & the Supernatural class I am taking. I’m not sure how I ended up here. I’m looking for artist responses about daVinci’s painting of Leda and the Swan. Any suggestions where I might go to find this info?
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don’t do it Leda! he will take some serious advantage of you! lord, youve made a mythology freak happy over here. You’re amazing at watercolours as well, I am so gash at watercolours its just untrue. really powerful and super stuff