Thoughts From The Easel - part 2

I wonder how many of you have seen the recent painting of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge? I know my views, but I would love to hear yours! The painting is by Paul Emsley, a very successful portrait artist, selected by Catherine to do her first official portrait. It has caused a lot of contraversy in the art world. She said "It's just amazing. Absolutely brilliant" and Prince William added, "It's beautiful, it's absolutely beautiful." However the art critics' comments are not so complimentary. "Ghastly ... rotten ... an out and out disaster", "It's only saving grace is that it's not by Rolf Harris" and "I wish I could find one positive thing to say but sadly, I can't". Is this criticism for the sake of criticism or is it right?

My views are that, if the sitter is pleased then that is the most important criteria for both the subject and the artist. However, my critique would be that it's a bit lifeless and doesn't capture either her personality or her beauty. I believe that the eyes are too small and too far apart and the bridge of the nose is too wide. My main concern, is the suggested criticism of the use of photographs as the main reference for painting. I understand that there were two sittings, when Paul Emsley took photographs, one of which was selected by Catherine, as his main reference for the painting. I have always used photographic reference, combining a number of photographs for the early sporting portraits and the more recent portraits. I have found that the lighting and composition are paramount to achieve a true likeness with the added benefit that the person does not need to give up a huge amount of their valuable time to actually sit whilst the portrait is painted.