Beautiful Ruin

good lord, how do you do it Saimain.

This is beautiful

"fall", a suitable theme, he seems to have fallen into madness or darkness, lovely lovely darkness

beautiful! i love the way you did the light on one side and dark on the other. his right hand looks almost photo-real.

Wow, this is really incredible. SO much detail in the hair! I can only imagine how much work was out into it, So many hours, you poor thing! lol The things we do to express ourselves... Anyways, lovely backstory, and great interpretation. But most of all, I adore the lighting of this pic. I really, really do.

This is really beautiful work. The lighting is fantastic, so dramatic. It is especially good on his right arm and hand, providing a lamp's glow or window's diffused light and really making that arm appear almost real, as someone else already mentioned.
The design of the tapestry is nice, and even though it's not in sharp focus like the foreground there is a lot of detail in it, and that's impressive.
Speaking of lighting, the glowing symbol/headdress on his forehead is a nice touch, illuminating his turned away face, yet doing so with a darker light than the rest of the image. A less natural light, as well. His eyes seem to glow like that symbol, giving him a supernatural feel as well.

I just keep coming back to that arm and hand... it's almost creepy, because it looks so real. The pose of the hand is such a relaxed, natural position that it is quite easy to mistake that part of this painting for a photograph, so hats off to you!
The skin is well done... That wonderful right arm seems so warm as it's bathed in light, and yet as we move into the darkness of the piece, his skin grows colder. This could be a trick of light, but I think of such things as the RESULT of lack of light, whether literal light or the metaphorical. The slashes on the painting (the one within the painting) lend to this idea...
One last thing I'd mention is the shredded material on the upper corners. These provide a nice subtle frame for the piece, not taking too much attention, but present nonetheless. They hang nicely.

I definitely consider this worth the work you put into it, and hope you win the contest.

EDIT: I took a look at your website (first of all, you really have amazing talent and skill!), and saw the detail images of this painting and was amazed even more. I spotted the scratches on his arm for the first time, and they totally moved the mood of this piece. They definitely added a darker element to the meaning to be found here, and yet they are so subtle. I find them fascinating.

Simply STUNNING!

You paint hair so well. You light and shadow are so well, I'd almost believe it was a real person

Poor Luke. I wonder how far he falls into his dark nightmares?

This is beautiful in a dark and forboding way.

Beautiful job! Especially on the arms. It's almost as if you can reach out and touch him. The hair and the painting in the background are just amazing! As always wonderful job ^_^

This is just amazing! The detail is beautiful and I love the lighting. Not only is it nice to look at, but I can learn something artistic from it too.

Thats beautiful...

I wish i was able to draw like that!!

I love this, especially the lighting and the hair

I simply am in awe, not only of this piece but your gallery and website as well. The attention to detail and udder ambiance about the whole painting is so moving. I am at a loss of words, ecept "Amazing."

this is so beautiful! i can´t stop staring at those details!

I've been following your art for years--I think yours was the first work I ever discovered on Elfwood--it's been a great source of inspiration and admiration for me. Your work awes me; I love the emotion and beauty that you depict, especially in works like these. It's the darkness, I guess, of human nature (like this one,) as well as the light, playful side in your other works. All of it tells a story, or a part of a story.

Wow! I love the hair! How do you draw that?! Great work on the face the entire picture is just plain lovely! ^-^