Whitaker's waltz with Giselle
 

Hi, everyone.

I was very impressed with the work after Bill Whitaker's workshop and your descriptions of the process. So I decided to try it myself.

I've taken a break from people and have been painting some animals (fun), but it's time to get back to work now. This is Giselle, my portfolio piece of the perennial "little girl in the white dress". It's 36" x 24", oil on toned canvas. This is the first time I toned a canvas first and now wish I had done it sooner! Please act as my guides as I muddle through.

Thanks,
Jean

Reference Giselle
 

This is her ref picture. I've changed her clothing to a dress I made up. I have a wall of fabric left from my former career (pro quilting) and have used my leftovers to create the drape that I want. Will be reflecting the violets and greens on to the fabric by using the fabric I have on hand. We'll see how this works.

I took the background from one of our trips into the country. Lighting was the same, and I won't be copying the photo anyway. Will try to keep my palette under control, and hopefully use everything I've learned here so far. Plus incorporate "the waltz". Thanks for looking.

Jean

Great start, Jean! I love that background tone. What color(s) is it?

I would highly recommend that you not do a "made up" dress from your imagination, however. It's tremendously difficult to paint something even when you have a precise photo of the exact garment right in front of you, in the correct outdoor lighting, etc. It's virtually impossible to make it up convincingly. Perhaps an expert far more advanced than I am could do it, but I would never attempt it! You've tackled a mountain very few artists could climb.

Update
 

Hi Michele,

I'm not working from a detailed picture, I'm working with the actual fabric. In my "former life" I was a tailor, designer, learned to sew at 7 years old. By 14, I had decided to become a real fashion designer. My mother did tailoring for the Ringling family (circus). I've draped the fabric into the shape of the dress on a form, I have violet and green fabric, (every shade under the rainbow) to use as a model for reflected light. So it should work. I also used the basic shirt pattern she is wearing for the top of the dress.

The colors I used to tone the background are Terra Rosa, Napthol red, and ultramarine blue. Brian Koetz had suggested that I try a warm red/brown as the color for toning (in my self portrait), so I decided to try it. I like it.

I'm also using a palette knife to apply much of the paint, then scraping, and applying another color and repeating the process. So many techniques, so little time..

This waltz is very different for me, its keeping me back from the painting and less detailed. Very different for a nitpicker like me!

Jean

Having the actual fabric hanging in front of you, and having other colors around it to create the right shadows seems like a good idea.

I look forward to seeing how it turns out!

Interesting!
 

This sounds very interesting. And, the girl is so cute.

I have not tried changing a subject's clothes before, but often done so with the background. The painting looks great so far. I can't wait to see the painting as it progresses.

Mai

Update
 

Hi Mai, Thank you for your interest. Here's the progress. Michelle, if something starts to look off, please comment. I think I'm going to leave this fairly loose.

Jean

Detail face
 

I have work to do on the eyes, and will be softening some transitions and finishing the mouth and teeth. There is some funny texture going on with the photo, it's rainy and grey here today, and the paint is still very wet. I must have some strange reflections going on. The actual painting has texture, but not the same as photo.

Jean

I like the soft looseness in her hair and I like the range of temperatures in the skintones. Here are a few things you might want to change:

In the photo she has a slightly cross-eyed look which I would correct in the painting. Also the value transitions on the right side of the neck are too strong, as are the saturated rosy areas of her lower cheeks. I would tone those areas down more.

Jean, I once changed an outfit. I was trying to take photos for a demo and the child I planned to use wasn't giving me the expressions I wanted so I switched to her younger sister, who was wearing a gray sweatshirt. I used a catalogue of children's clothing and found a model in roughly the same pose, so it worked fairly well.

I like the pose and the loose painterly look you have going there, but the child in your portrait looks older than your reference photo model. I think the forehead needs to be higher and there should be more hair at the top of the head, but also the cheeks in the painting aren't as full as the model's and the chin and jaw are perhaps a little too prominent. A child's jaw is softer, rounder, and less developed. But possibly you're not interested in the age but more in the look.

Correcting the eyes
 

Hi all. Yes, I will be changing her eyes, this was the only picture that I took (at a birthday party) that showed her eyes slightly crossed. I'll make sure they aren't in the portrait. I plan to add another layer of paint to her face and scrape again to lighten those "rosy" cheeks! Michelle, you're right about those dark shadows, I'll lighten them up.

Leslie, hello! I haven't added the little wisps of hair on her forehead yet, and won't till I'm close to completion. Also the next layer of paint, should "round" out her face and soften her chin line.

To both, I like this loose style also, I'll do it again. I'm really concentrating on staying loose, without my normal detail. This is more fun! Thank you for the comments and insight, it's appreciated.

Jean

update
 

Hello, I've done some work on her face, arm, and dress. Mostly her face. I'll be lightening her cheeks even more and toned down her "rosy" glow.

Jean

Detail face
 

There is a little glare, as the paint is still wet.

Jean, she's looking a little younger now but her right cheek (on our left) isn't as full below the level of the mouth as you have it, and her jawline, especially on her left (our right) is too low and full for a child her age. Also her right eyebrow (on our left) is too high relative to the position of the eye, and bringing it down would give her a more young-child-like forehead. Her left eyebrow is also a bit high but not as much. I think if you made those changes she'd look more her age. She's got a darling face and I like the painterly way you're approaching her.

Giselle
 

Hi Leslie, she is a sweetheart. I took many pctures of her at the party, and will be using a few for figurative studies. This was the best for a formal portrait (even with the slightly crossed eyes). She always had a look of being totally delighted!

Thank you for your observations, I'll be painting most of the day. Making repairs and keeping the loose look is very difficult for me. But I'm going to work in this style for a while now, try to "imprint" it on my soul.

Jean

Refining her face
 

I've lightened her face and neck even more. Started adding wispy hairs, worked on eyes. I need to soften the bridge of her nose and finish her left eyebrow (I did lower both). I think I'm done with any major changes now and will go back to arms, hands, and background. Thank you all for your explicit descriptions of this process. And especially to Bill Whitaker for his excellent demos on his site!

Jean

ps. It's still dark and rainy here, the pic may be a little dark, even though I lightened it in my photo program.

Nice job, Jean! She looks much more the age of your model, now. Can't wait to see the final painting.

Thank you!
 

It did post darker than it is. Next time I'll wait for better weather to photograph it. Getting tired of dark skies.

Jean

Working all day
 

Hi!

Well I've worked on the hands, arms, and some on flowers. I haven't fixed her nose yet, but I will. I've done more work on the lilacs and foliage, still trying to stay loose. I'm begining the shadows on the dress now, and will either make it or break it. There is some glare on the darker areas, so please disregard.

Jean

Done?
 

Well I think I'm done, afraid to put any more paint on the canvas cause I'll get too diddly. Any nitpicky suggestions? We finally have better weather here, so colors are fairly accurate.

Jean

Detail
 

Close up of her face.

Detail
 

Close up of her hands and violets. Tom and I found these deep blue-violet lilacs on one of our rides. I've never seen such intense color before and took many pictures of them. I tried to imprint the image in my mind also, because the pictures don't do justice to the reality.

Jean

Revisions
 

Giselle has been sitting on the shelf for a while. Something seemed wrong, so she just waited patiently for me to figure it out.

I've removed the lower lilacs on the left to open that area up. It seemed too left heavy. Also brightened the sky, and the near lilacs. Also lightened and blued out the upper lilacs and leaves. The foreground was brightened and more detail added, and horizon line lightened. I think I still need to soften the edge of her right arm, then I'll be done and she can come off the shelf.

What do you think of her reivisions?

Jean