Choose a painting. Add your intention. Ask for a considered second look.
Your paintingNo image selected
A painting, just as it is.
Finished, unfinished, or somewhere in between.
or drop it here · JPG, PNG or WebP · up to 15 MB
Photograph straight on, in even light, without glare.
The value study removes colour to help you compare light and dark. It is a viewing aid, not a critique or a corrected painting.
Your reference optionalPainted from a photo? Add it here.
Compare your painting with the photograph or source you worked from. You will get a side-by-side look at drawing, values, colour, edges and light, with what to change, where, and how, and where your own choices already work better than the reference.
The artist’s intention
What are you reaching for?
A quiet painting may need quiet contrasts. Your intention is where useful feedback begins.
Watercolour pilot · We’ll prepare advice and a matching visual together. A new-painting study can explore choices that cannot be changed on the current sheet.
Your notes are included with your painting when you request a critique.
A question to sit with
Look at the painting in the value view. Where does your eye land first? Is that the passage you want us to notice?
Selected images stay local until you request feedback. Pilot results are private and expire after 24 hours; scheduled cleanup removes stored copies within the following hour. You can delete yours sooner. AI-provider retention is separate.
Checking the studio connection…
Your painting / A considered second look
What the painting is telling us.
At a glance
The full reasoning for each step follows below.
Against your reference
Your reference and your painting, side by side.
ReferenceYour painting
The value pattern
Notan: reference and painting, side by side
Three checks against your reference
In black and white
ReferenceYour painting
As notan
Both images reduced to their big light and dark shapes, as if you squinted. The third panel marks where your painting's pattern departs from the reference.
ReferenceYour paintingWhere they differ
Darker in your painting than in the referenceLighter in your painting than in the reference
What is working
Possible changes on this sheet
A separate studio exercise
Teacher Review · inspect withheld previews
Unvalidated previews for your assessment only. Recording a verdict does not approve or publish an image. Deleted with this result, or when it expires.
AI-assisted teaching visual
A restrained adjustment to this painting.
OriginalIllustrative study
Drag to compare
Side by side
Your paintingSuggested reference
This is an exploration of a suggestion, not a corrected original or a guarantee of what physical paint will do. It is separate from the grayscale value view.
02 / Feedback with coordinates
The painting sets the question.
A useful critique names a passage, explains its effect, and leaves you with a choice you understand.
Composition
Where the eye travels.
The weight of a shape. The space around it. The small accent that draws attention away from the subject.
Value
How light holds together.
The large light and dark families beneath the detail. A narrow range can be a deliberate choice.
Colour
Every colour has neighbours.
Hue, value and chroma considered separately, then together. A colour speaks through its relationships.
Edges & water
What to leave untouched.
A soft edge, a settled wash, a trace of paper. Advice must respect both the medium and the marks worth keeping.
Before you begin
A few honest answers.
How does the critique work?
With a connected studio and a private access code, select your painting, describe your intention, and request feedback. AI-assisted observations identify strengths and specific next steps. A teacher has not personally reviewed each result; use your judgement and keep what serves your painting.
Is my painting uploaded or saved?
Selecting an image displays it locally. Requesting a critique sends a resized copy and your notes to the server and OpenAI. Pilot copies expire after 24 hours and are cleaned up hourly. Delete your result to remove the server copy sooner. Provider logs have separate retention; closing the page does not delete a submitted result. This browser remembers your latest critique for up to a day, so it reopens if you refresh or come back; on a shared computer, delete your result when you finish.
Will the companion repaint my work?
Choose whether to improve this sheet or plan a new painting. We prepare the primary advice and visual together; a new-painting study is clearly labelled. For the current-painting route, the image is an illustrative reference. Some changes may need a fresh painting because watercolour cannot always be lightened or recoloured on the same sheet. Apply practical changes now and carry the remaining ideas into your next painting. If it changes too much, we withhold it and keep your written feedback available.
Can I compare my painting with my reference photo?
Yes. Add the photograph or source you painted from beside your painting. The critique compares the two passage by passage: drawing and proportion, the value pattern, light, colour temperature, edges and depth. For each difference it says whether moving closer to the reference would help what you want to express, or whether your own choice already works. A painting is an interpretation, not a copy, so you will never be marked down for a deliberate departure.
Can a photograph show the true colours?
Lighting, camera settings and screens all affect colour. Even a good photograph is an interpretation of the painting. Use the value view to explore relationships, rather than as an exact measurement of the original.
From looking to practice
Carry the question into the studio.
Explore the Academy’s programmes and the mentoring behind this approach.