Well done use of selective color. Certainly fits the compositional intent.
I have no idea what to do here, but the contrast of the BW hand and the color palette makes for a disjointed feel.
Scott
Effective use of the selective coloration gimmick but the tonal range of the B&W parts are abnormally dark and muddy to the point of distraction and me noticing the technique rather than the implied message.
I'd suggest you work from two copies of the original RAW. One processed normally, and another adjusted with the Black and Fill sliders to recover some the shadow detail the short range of the camera underexposed. Then blend the two together with masks to get a full range color version, then do the selective coloration.
The selective coloration technique works when its the focal point that is rendered in color as you did here. But the problem with any unusual technique is that its really neat when seen for the first time, less so when seen for the thousandth time. I remember seeing it for the first time in advertising back in the late 90's when Photoshop and SciTex workstations made it possible.
The photo, as composed, would deliver the same implied message just as effectively in color because we can only see the background via the painting, not in the photo itself. The only compelling reason I'd see for the selective coloration would be if the artist was wearing a colored shirt that would be distracting in the color version. Even in a wider crop you could convey the message of "interpreted through the eye and hand of the artist" by showing the background that seen in the painting, but rendering it OOF with shallow DOF.
Contrast is a relative thing. Often in color photos I will intentionally desaturate areas other than the focal point to make the color in the focal point contrast more. Not to the point where the desaturation looks unnatural, just so the color in the focal point seems more attractive to the eye and brain of the viewer, drawing attention there subliminally. LIke a magic trick the secret is finding the right balance between fooling the audience but not making them aware they've been manipulated. When the manipulation because blatantly obvious the reaction of the viewer more often than not will be "wow that's a neat technique" missing or diluting the impact of the content.
