Hi Bethany,
I also like the piece. The stippling work on the lower leaf is nice -- I can really see the values -- stippling is something I struggle with so I find it helpful to see how others do it. Also, there's a lot of grace to that lower leaf. On another note, my eye was drawn to the little tangle of roots below the little leaf -- the tangle along with the little leaf conveys a sense of energy and emerging life to the whole piece. The long, lower root looks very realistic. I'm not sure I can offer much help on the fold on the top leaf. I do get a sense of the fold on the bottom of that leaf because of the shading & the overlap on the bottom of the top leaf. Perspective is such a bear! Maybe a different angle would work?
I also like the piece. The stippling work on the lower leaf is nice -- I can really see the values -- stippling is something I struggle with so I find it helpful to see how others do it. Also, there's a lot of grace to that lower leaf. On another note, my eye was drawn to the little tangle of roots below the little leaf -- the tangle along with the little leaf conveys a sense of energy and emerging life to the whole piece. The long, lower root looks very realistic. I'm not sure I can offer much help on the fold on the top leaf. I do get a sense of the fold on the bottom of that leaf because of the shading & the overlap on the bottom of the top leaf. Perspective is such a bear! Maybe a different angle would work?