Dean and friend
 

This is my next commission. The photo that I'm using is a 7" x 5" with the actual figure only 3" high. Because of this, I've decided to try an impressionist style (which I find fun anyway). This attractive man is quite ill and unable to pose for a proper sitting, so I agreed to do it as pictured. To the people who love him this is characteristic of this man. Hopefully the stance, setting, and dog will give the overall impression of him. If anyone sees anything dreadfully wrong, please comment. You have been my safety net in the past, so if I take a dive, please catch me!

Jean

Forgot something
 

I've only just started this, its not a completed work.

Jean

Just a single note here. I'd go easy on the light streaks in the dark shirt (or sweater or sweatshirt). They're breaking up that nice form, and they're also mimicking the light tree branches against the dark-woods background all around him. Think about working out the form of those fabric folds through hues (and temperature) rather than such dramatic value shifts.

Hi, Steven
 

Thanks, I'll tone it down.

Jean

Dean and friend
 

I've been softening the colors, (influenced by Bouguereau) and still have a long way to go. To help get the features of his face better I'm doing a pastel study of his head from a larger picture. Much the same style as Tom in the Wind. I've picked up a magnifying tool called MagEyes that is worn on your head with different lenses inserted for varying degrees of magnification. This is helping my over 50 eyes.

I'll post the pastel as soon as it's closer to completion. Client may be coming over later today to view progress, so I've got to get moving. Haven't even washed my face yet.

Jean

They are going to love this!

What is the size of the painting?

Without knowing the subjects, I hesitate to comment. However, compositionally, I would think a darker dog (especially on shadow side and head) would say "fur" more clearly and direct all eyes toward the gentleman.

To capture character and gesture is one of our greatest goals. I think you have done this beautifully.

Hi Jeanine
 

Oops, forgot to post size, etc. This is 28" x 22", oil on canvas. The golden is Dean's best friend and companion. His coloring can't be changed for the sake of composition. I also haven't worked much on him, no shadows or deepening of his beautiful golden coloring. So he should be incorporated into the design and enhance Dean better as this painting progresses.

Dean's wife is the one who commissioned this painting. She came yesterday to see the progress and first words were, "Oh, it's really Dean!" Her delight gave me chills, the hair on my arms stood up. I pray that this painting continues to capture him as it comes together.

Today I get to paint or draw to my heart's content. Football games galore and leftovers (shrimp and steak) for hubby. Heaven is back!

Jean

Update
 

I've done more work on the Golden, took reference photos of hands yesterday so I can solidify Dean's hands. I'm still softening all over and deepening shadows. I'll be working on his face soon.

Jean

Shadows
 

Take care to note source of light when deepening gold tones on dog.

Not exactly Bougeureau
 

Well, he's getting his face. I'm still softening the background, and filling it in more. I felt there was too much "noise". Getting a face this small is very difficult. If "faced" with this again I think I'll pass!

Jeannine, the golden's coloring is light in front and dark toward the back, also it appears that a shadow runs up his spine as a continuation from the ground. This seems to create a reverse of light and dark just along his spine. Does this make sense?

Well, back to work.

Jean

Close-up of figures
 

Dean wears large wire frame glasses. I've just begun putting the bows in.

Reversal of Fortune
 

This is looking great!

I understand your point about reality of coloring versus source of light. A compromise of some highlights along the animal's spine may be enough to connect the illusion.

I'm glad you didn't know how difficult this would be when you started, or we may never have seen such a lovely painting emerge!

A different view of Dean
 

As promised, here is the partially completed charcoal of Dean. I found myself "frozen" and unable to complete or go beyond the bows of the glasses. Once I put the glasses in it will be too late to change facial features if they are wrong. So, I decided to work on the charcoal more.

This isn't complete either, will post more as I get there.

Jeannine, I really appreciate your positive comments on this painting. Its been a heartbreaker to work on.

Jean

Again, Dean
 

Still softening, edges in particular. I didn't like the blue scarf so changed it to red. Added highlights to the dog's back. Thanks Jeannine, it worked. I did a lot in the background and foreground, trying to pull it all together.

Jean

Face
 

He has a face now and it does look look him. Thank God for the magnifying glasses. Rebecca, do you have something like these to work on your miniatures? His face is only about 3 inches high. Still no glasses. I can only hint at them since the frames are black wire. Now I have to wait for things to dry.

Jean

Happiness
 

I'm so relieved, Dean is out of the hospital and improving daily. Tomorrow I'm actually going to meet him and do some of my own photos. I was so afraid he might die while I was doing his portrait. Somehow I felt that if I didn't finish it he would stay alive as long as I was working on it. Guess you could call this magical thinking. Boy am I powerful! Has anybody else got this involved emotionally in a portrait?

Jean

Introducing "Bear"
 

Nothing could have prepared me for the bounding, massive, championship golden retriever that greeted me yesterday. Certainly not the distorted unflattering snapshot that I painted from.

There is absolutely NO comparison between life and photos. I came home wearing Bear's essence all over my body, and met a kind, gentle man with a twinkle all over his face and a love for life.

Jean

New and improved "Bear"
 

Hi, This is reworked from a composite of photos since Bear wouldn't pose perfectly for just one shot! But this is much more like him. Now on to Dean.

Jean

Likeness
 

This is Dean's 5th face. After meeting him it was apparent that I didn't have enough information to get his likeness. So I wiped out his face (power). Now at the fifth version, I finally feel that this at least looks like him. The problem is to incorporate his new face back into the whole painting, it doesn't seem to fit. I believe in trying so hard to get the likeness, I've disregarded the "feel" of the painting. My fear is that I will destroy his face in bringing it into the work.

Jean

Detail of face
 

The whole face was painted with the help of magnifying glasses. I'm sure this is part of the problem, but was the only way my old eyes could even see where the brush was. I'm hesitant to post his reference photo due to the dramatic change in his appearance since last summer. If anyone is interested in helping me privately through e-mail please send me a note.

Jean

Modifications
 

One more time, I've deepened the colors in his face. darkened the shadow side and deepened the bridge of his nose and under eye on the shadow side. Used a new color combination that I like, burnt sienna and ultra violet for the darks. This color stuff never ceases to amaze me. It seems that he fits more in the whole painting.

I'm almost done now, so this agonizing process will soon be over.:bewildere

Jean

The whole thing
 

Just finishing work left. Hands, finish Bear's scarf, check for anything else.

Jean

I'm sorry I'm coming into this critique so late in the process. You've probably already presented it by now.

If it's not too late I think you'll find the painting much improved by reducing the contrast, values and saturation in the background. (The all important aerial perspective.)

It will give a greater sense of depth, but more important, will focus the attention on the subject. You can accomplish most of this quite simply with a glaze over much of the tree area. Also, scumbling a light neutral over the foreground dirt will help reduce its complexity too.

I also showed an alternate cropping. You probably don't feel like putting this canvas on new stretchers to alter the composition to this extent, but this tighter cropping suggestion may help you when it comes time to doing your next painting.

Still agonizing
 

Hi Michelle, no, not delivered yet. I'm still working on getting the perfect likeness. One of these times his face will light up and dance, then I will be happy. I wish I had increased the size of the figures on the canvas for many reasons, first it would have been easier to get the likeness. and second more emphasis would have been placed on the figures and less on the landscape. The client has already seen it and loves the background though. It has special meaning for them, the colors, the time of year, and that particular area. I can't argue with that, it has special significance to them and I have to honor that.

I had to take a break from working on it, so finished his charcoal, and did a pastel of my stepdaughter. Today I came back to this and have been working on it all day. You must be psychic (a right-brained thing)! Thanks for taking a look at this, all your suggestions are noted and appreciated.

Jean

Done agonizing, I hope
 

Eight faces later, I've made a thousand minute changes. Raised his head, increased the "tilt" of his face, changed color harmony, adjusted eyes, nose and mouth. Michelle, I used some of your suggestion and did darken the background slightly, also increased intensity of the main figures.

I spent alot of this AM trying to photograph it. Its -2 degrees outside (with windchill) and snow finally, but I courageously sat on the ground and used my favorite spot for picture taking. When I imported the pictures, they were all "glare" so the search started for a new spot. Thirty pics later I finally have a second one.

So here goes, to me he finally "dances".

Jean

The whole thing
 

Michelle, I think it looks better,thanks. What do you think? Client is coming this aft to view again, I have my fingers crossed.

Jean

I haven't really looked at your changes on the face, but, just looking at the overall values of the other large areas in the image, to be honest, I don't notice much of a difference from your previous version.

I would, personally, still do much more to smooth out the detail in the foreground and, especially, darken and flatten out the background much more. (There's a quote in another post on the forum that I definitely agree with: "The chief job of a background is to stay back".)

I posted your version from a few days ago, your most recent version and my suggested changes all in one image. Perhaps seeing them this way will help you see what I mean.

It may be too late to make changes at this point, but for future reference I think you'll find that if you think in terms of large solid masses of value your compositions will be much stronger.

Good luck!

Agonizing over!
 

I've got his face, stance, and the twinkle. Client very happy. Now I can actually concentrate on what you were saying Michele. And I get it. I'm going to the gallery with her on Fri to pick out the frames for both this and his charcoal drawing so have time to some value massing in the background.

My concern with the version you posted is that it almost looks like nightime, I get what you're saying but am unsure of how to accomplish softening the background without making it much darker and losing the "light". Do you have any suggestions or other work I can look at? I need to keep the forest green and golds in the background and foreground because inadvertently I duplicated the colors in the room this will be in. (I had never been in their home) Must be another 'right-brain" thing.

Thank you for the time spent on this, Michele. I know this will be a better piece because of your input. :)

Jean

Perhaps having the tree trunks and the shadows between them all at a similar deep medium value will help instead. (Perhaps 6 or 7 on a nine-value scale with nine being black.) My main concern was with the strong contrast between the trees and the spaces, creating a dramatic picket fence backdrop that fought for attention with the foreground.

You can preserve most of the light in the tops of the trees in the background, to keep the feeling of bright sun, as long as the saturated colors, complexity, etc don't take too much attention away from the figures.

It may be too late to make much change here. Next time when you are setting up a photo shoot, choosing a less attention-getting background will probably help you a lot.

Glad they like it!

Working all night
 

I've been softening and darkening all night, just quit for now. I photographed it by a mix of incandescent, flourescent, and color corrected light, but it still came out yellow. This afternoon I downloaded a free program for Mac computers called Pixelenhance and have been playing with that to correct the image. I'll post the final pic when I have better lighting although this new program is really nice.

You were right Michelle, I can already see that the figures are much more prominent in the painting. Thanks!

Jean

The trees and foreground texture do not dominate the image anymore. Nice job!

Last post (I promise)
 

Dean and Friend (Bear) in better lighting.