Composition of Alexander's Portrait
 

I have a question regarding the composition.

This is my son, Alex when he was six years old. The way he has his fingers placed and the way he looks at you, all imply that he is waiting to do something. On the original photo he was waiting to blow out candles.

I feel he needs something placed in front of him to make the picture complete. I drew in a very rough chessboard with a few pieces to lead the viewer into his space.

Which composition do you recommend and why?

This will be a 8" x 10" oil painting on board. I needed a sample piece to show to customers for size relationships between small and large portraits and their impact as a whole.

Developing the Composition
 

As I mentioned before, I needed a sample piece for my portfolio and with this in mind, I looked through our family photos in search of a piece. Based on the wonderful instructions on this site, I asked myself these compositional questions:

1. Balanced yet Unequal?
The Negative space vs. the Positive space is definitely unequal.

2. Does an eye path exist?
The extended finger leads the viewer into Alex

Dear Enzie,

Notwithstanding the fact that your inquiry is about composition, I do not recommend painting a portfolio piece from this photograph.

The flash attachment on the camera that was used to take this photo rendered it a poor candidate as a painting resource. If you want to build the best portfolio you can, you can not start with poor source material.

I would second Chris' opinion, and add a couple more reasons as to why I wouldn't paint a sample from this photo. His mouth is in a very awkward transitional position and I feel that his hand leads the viewer out of the painting, not in.

There's also one more reason why you might not want to paint this as you've discussed. Do you really want to be painting 8" x 10" portraits? If you'd really like to get some commissions at that size, then by all means paint an 8" x 10" sample. You may find that the work involved in painting a tiny portrait is the same as one painted life size, though, and you probably won't be able to get the same price as you would for a larger painting.

If your goal is to show clients how a larger painting has more impact and thus encourage them to commission larger pieces, then just paint larger pieces to show.

Chris, your point is well taken, but I have already spent considerable time working on the piece and I am planning to finish it. My light source came from a chandelier above his head and candles on a birthday cake. There has been a lot of talk about proper lighting and quality photos, but no samples have been submitted as to what exactly constitutes a good photo.

Depending on the outcome of this piece, I will reevaluate its suitability for the portfolio.

Michele, your observation about the finger is interesting. I feel this is somewhat like the argument that the glass is either half full or half empty. Could one not take his finger and come in, rather than go out? The finger

I do think having a chess piece facing to the left, and positioned just to the right of his finger, is a good idea, to stop the visual flow out of the painting.

Back to the topic of getting the price that your work is worth: I have found that the key is making sure my work is shown to people who do have money to spend.

I have donated head-and-shoulder portraits to four VERY high end private school charity auctions in the past year. Every one of the four winners has contracted to pay me thousands of dollars more to upgrade to full figure portraits with complex backgrounds, or to do three-quarter length portraits with two kids.

These are folks who spend $10,000 a year to send one child to private school, and who live in multi-million dollar homes. They also have friends with a lot more money to spend than what my friends or I have!

I also hung four of my life size portraits in the public library in a very upscale part of town. That led to a commission which will turn out to be about $7,000. That client has agreed to do an unveiling party for me next spring when the painting is finished, and to invite her neighbors who also live in multi-million dollar homes.

So, the key is to get the right work in front of the right people and you will get sales.

Good luck!

Michelle,

The

Composition isn't really the problem
 

Just to reinforce Chris Saper's observation, that although this is a cute photo of your son, it is not suitable for a painting reference. The light is all wrong.

You are quite fortunate to have a choice and I agree that it is tough to abandon something that has a lot of your time and effort tied up in it. But you have a real opportunity to learn something right now by making the extra effort necessary to begin your project on a solid foundation. Many good lessons are painful to learn, but worth it in the long run because you will learn to be a better painter.

If you search this Forum, you will find plenty of information about (and examples of) photos where the light is correct for painting.

Good luck.

Enzie,

There's quite a bit of information available under Resource Photo Critiques regarding what constitutes a good photo from which to paint. It may not be spelled out 1, 2 3, but if you study the various posts, there's much valuable information there.

Thank you all for your advise. I am already planning the next project, this time with a photo shoot!

I feel I owe the people who offered their advise a further explanation, since it seems my replies have prompted the following thread; .
I would like to clarify the following:

I purposely posted this photo in the "Composition Section", rather than "Photo Critique" after pointing out steps I have followed for proper composition handling. These I have gathered from different sources and wanted to share them with those who are as disorganized in creating their art, as I used to be. It was also meant to show that by applying the information one gathers, through a series of self-imposed questions, one can help find weaknesses and try to find ways to strengthen the composition. (After discovering certain weaknesses, I have asked the two questions.)

I have used any number of these elements throughout the years, but after being on the Forum and reading how others approach their work in a more organized fashion, I have chosen to follow and learn from their experience.

Furthermore, as a professional artist I have left these points open for comment, I never assume that I know it all, nor that one way is the only way to approach something. I value the opinion of everybody, especially those who I consider to be more accomplished in their technique and skills.

The final decision as the creator of the work, to either continue or stop with a work should be left to that individual. We all have our reasons for what we choose to do and to assume that one hinders oneself from artistic growth is wrong. To go on does not imply weakness, nor inability to handle criticism, but a conscious decision for reasons known only to the artist. Not every work will be a masterpiece and there is a lot to be gained from the failures. I also said [Ouote] Depending on the outcome of this piece, I will reevaluate its suitability for the portfolio. [/quote], This implies that I have taken the comment to heart and will reconsider my decision.

The beauty of the Forum is that artists with varying skill levels can be represented to share their experiences, techniques and viewpoints. We can all learn something from each other, whether it is tolerance of a different opinion, technical ability or revolutionary high tech approaches to creating a portrait. As individuals blessed with a creative mind, we should also appreciate the creative spirit each one brings to the Forum. To all you long time pros, intermediate and beginners: Never assume that I do not value your opinion; there is something to be learned from each and everyone!

Cynthia, I have browsed through many threads and read many posts. As a visual learner, like many others, I benefit most from things I can see rather than things I read about. So to ask to be shown what constitutes a good photo, does not imply laziness but a genuine interest.

Use or not use?
 

I love the picture of your son!!! I think with a lot of imagination and knowing how good lighting should "act" that this picture could be fabulous.

I often take old pictures and make them into "new" portraits by adding better lighting (higher contrasts) and I imagine the rest. Sometimes I just use bone structure from a model and change their hairstyle to perhaps the victorian era for instance. I like to paint the same model in a variety of different hairstyles and different clothing, etc. Using an example such as this is a good exercise in using your imagination. The reason I do this quite often is that I do not see the kind of "plumpness" in the faces that I like when doing "ladies of yesteryear". Most had lovely soft faces. So if I find a picture from yesteryear, then I use him/her in quite a few different portraits.

I think that if you did it right and made it "WOW" then it just might be a portfolio addition.

I just popped back into this thread and realized that although I don't think that this is a "paintable" picture it is a really wonderful snapshot of your son.

On a purely compositional basis, I would crop it as shown below. The chess pieces are not a good compositional element and the background ought to be simple.

Here's an idea
 

I think that it might be fun to take this picture and put it on the left hand side of a big painting with a chess board in the middle of the picture and on the right hand of the picture have a picture of him all grownup with a worried look on his face and with the chess board showing that the younger one had won! Checkmate!

Like I said, it's fun to use your imagination! OOOOOoohhh, let the left hand side be in black and white or sepia tones and fade in with full color on the right. That could be really neat. I think that I'll do that on one of my paintings.

Celeste and Karin,

You both have surprised me by dragging a piece of controversy back out into the limelight. Karin, I actually ended up with your suggested composition
with the addition of one tin soldier very close to the pointed finger. In hindsight, I realize now that I should have omitted it, but my son plays chess and thought it was cool to add it.

My son had seen me work on this painting at the time I posted it and after having done a huge painting of my daughter in

I agree
 

Dear Enzie,
Wow, that was a really great post! I agree with you 100%. I would love to see the finished piece. :)

Enzie the Eloquent
 

I want to see it Enzie!

Your posts are always so eloquently written and from your heart, and I always enjoy seeing your beautifully colored and stylized paintings.

I quote you:
Touche` Enzie

Sincerely,
Denise