Victoria - oil on linen
 

This is Victoria, oil on linen, 20" x 16". Some may have followed this from the photo critique section. This scene is from a porch a few yards from the Caribbean in Belize. Any comments would be appreciated.

A slightly closer view...

Nice work
 

Very nice work - I like the way the light falls on this lady. It makes a very interesting portrait and holds the eye of the viewer. This portrait radiates a very warm feeling; nicely done.

Henry

Nice work Mike, this is wonderful! :)

Ahhhhh. The woman behind the hand!

Exquisite.

Thank you all for the nice comments.

I think the threat of facing this crowd (and I mean that in a positive way) has had a very positive influence on my painting. As great as this Forum is for all, for people like myself who haven't been exposed to art academe, it has been a godsend. Self-taught painters grind out their knowing over years and years. Being exposed to all this talent has really been a rush for me.

Mike,

I congratulate you on your tenacity and vision and effort. I don't distinguish between "self-taught" and "taught" artists. We all have to do our own work. I don't keep count or track, but I think you've come back over and over again, probably more than most others on site, with new and interesting pieces, as well as with lots of insights about others' work and about varied topics Thanks for that. You do a h*** of a lot of work. Good on you.

I think this is nice work, too. I like the pose and the general execution.

To be more brief than notoriety would anticipate, the very first impulse I had was to suggest that you explore a broader range of values. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think 98% of this piece is between 4 and 6. What that does is rob you of quite easily realized form definition. The face lies flat, and lies in the same plane as the forearm, also flat. It's really quite difficult to sort out the form-defining light, because the subject's entire blouse just glows, melding into the brilliant background. I think a clever pigment choice for the blouse could make this a stellar piece. But there, too, not just one colour wash - there has to be attention to the light play as forms (planes) move toward or away from the light source.

Again, uncharacteristically brief, but I'm off to Taipei in a few hours, and far to go before I sleep.

Cheers,

I hate to disagree with Steven, especially since he may not check emails while in Taipei, but, I feel compelled to differ.

The beautiful "other-worldiness" from this realistic portrait depends on the bright light flooding the subject from behind, over the shoulder. When painting a landscape in bright sunlight, we must eliminate the lower values from the palette, as there is so much reflected light bouncing around, that even the darkest shadows rarely dip below the fourth value.

Here, not only do we have an extraordinarily bright light source, but it is clearly behind the subject which would further reduce cast shadows. I think the careful resistance to modeling here was brave and appropriate.

Perhaps slight temperature changes would define the planes of the head without inventing shadow or dipping deeper into the value scale. However, like bright, foggy-day conditions in the landscape, the few areas of flatness seems to be a natural by-product of the setting.

I think it is a beautiful piece. She has the look of someone who has spent the day in the outdoors and is positively glowing. Having said that, I should say that something bothers me about the arm. Is it a bit short? I can't quite identify the problem, it has something to do with the upper arm and the way it sits on her knee. The sleeve looks right. Perhaps someone else could comment on this?

I don

Mike,

Writing from the Caribbean (the other side), this painting brings up the memories of our strong breezes at Mayaro, where kites fly at 90 degree angles.

I only wish you had painted more of the young lady
and also more of the background. Perhaps some seagrape trees with fruit to run with her natural beauty.

I think you're right, Jeanine. I first looked at this in a darkened room late at night, and now I have a intense backlight from a very humid Osaka Japan, and I'd agree with you that it's probably temperature more than a too-narrow value range. Whatever it is, I still do think that it would be worth experimenting to get some "relief" from the overall look in the flesh tones of a very limited range of hue and value. I'd play with it in Photoshop, but I feel so lucky just to have gotten a connection from this airport (layover), I think I'll leave it there.

Cheers,
Steven

p. s. Don't worry about disagreeing with me. I spend half my life second-guessing myself, and the other half confused.

Mike,

I think this is your best painting by far!

Renee Price

Way to go Mike!
 

I love the light and the why you made it appear. I have some photos I took in the Domincian Republic that I've thought of trying now, after seeing what you've done with that kind of light. Maybe I'll try.

Thanks,
Tammy

I really like this painting, congratulations!

Peter

Thanks to all who responded.

Your kind remarks have turned what could have been an ordinary five days in tropical paradise with a beautiful woman into something special.

I forgot to mention for all the environmentalists out there... the Manatee's of Belize are now resting a little easier after my daughter spent 10 days in July trying to make their lives a little easier. She and 7 other students joined a research team off the coast of Belize sponsored by Earthwatch.

I think you did a wonderful job on this painting. I love the fact that you didn't go too dark in the shadows on the face. I have the opposite problem. My shadows tend to go too dark in the face and then I have to work hard to lighten certain areas.

The girl in your painting looks fresh and natural. Her pose, her hair and her leaning head all suggest the end of a long fun summer day. Keep up the good work!

Thank you Denise, I am now going to update my bio to include that I have received international acclaim.

I would be interested to hear how your rigid "portrait a day" schedule this summer has worked out.

Being the disciplined person that I am, I really tried to do a painting a day in the beginning. Then, I realized that I do not have trouble with the drawing or blocking in the first layers. Getting an impressionistic likeness comes easily to me. After a few alla prima paintings, I realized that what I really wanted was to create a more realistic portrait, in other words, I needed to work on the fine tuning.

To gave myself a jumpstart by following a 10 day workshop in Wisconsin with Peggy Baumgaertner. After, I came home and painted for the rest of the summer with live models. I had a great time and I am sure my painting has improved.

In shortn the plan didn't quite work out as planned but it worked out fine anyway! :) Thanks for asking!