Hercules-and-Nessus

Excellent composition in this piece- it reminds me a lot of Renaissence style work. Your pallette is also quite aesthetically pleasing. I especially like the way you have painted the sky and mountains, and the intended use of lighting. That said, I think the piece looks somewhat unfinished. I think this impression is more because of the highly classical composition and construction of the forms (excellent anatomy by the way, both human and equine) that has trained the eye to expect a higher level of contrast and detail in painting.

In particular, I would work some more on the waves of the river, give the froth more detail and make it more classical and less impressionistic. Also, your foreground seems to have little differentiation from the background. In your shoes, I would leave the background as is, and work more on the light/shadow contrast on Hercules and Nessus, as well as the blue cape. I think you should go ahead and use sharp darker shadows. It will really make your work pop.

In any case, it's a very impressive piece! Well done, and good work on the expressions and the tension between the two forms.