DeMille workshop portrait
 

Hello all,

Last week I attended a week long portrait workshop conducted by Sedona based artist Leslie B. DeMille. I enjoyed it immensely.

This is one of the live models we had throughout the week (also named Richard). Unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to take his photo as a reference for critique. But here it is, and any comments are appreciated. I encourage any critique, nitpicking, insults, etc. Thank ya much fer lookin'!

19 x 25 in. on Canson Mi-Teintes

Close up
 

And a zoomed image:

I like the colors used for his flesh. Although it looks very loose with paper showing through, you can tell he's alive. Nice job.

Nice to see you, Richard!

This is my favorite painting of yours so far. Very nice job! Fresh and masculine, it really suits your subject. I wouldn't change a thing.

Jimmie and Linda,

Thank you both for the nice comments. They are much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Richard got around a LOT last week, I have photos....I will post the work we did in Chris Saper's class for you next week. SAME SHIRT.

Sorry I missed you at lunch, I would loved to meet your teacher.

Note on the school, Sally Strand is teaching this week. I am so torn when I love the sticks and am trying to work more in oil. Are we lucky or WHAT?!
dj*

Portrait Thoughts
 

Hello Richard,

I have been thinking about what I might add to the comments. I hesitate to say too much as I see you have signed it and you are no longer able to look at the model.

All in all, it is a strong piece. I like seeing the paper through the drawing. The only real element that sticks out and bothers me is the background. It seems you did a very thoughtful rendering and then you quickly blocked in a background without giving it as much thought as the portrait itself.

The strong yellow stands out a bit much and competes too strongly with the flesh tones. If I were to revisit your portrait, I might put a little more effort into the background. Perhaps you could carefully establish a darker value, without messing with it too much and loosing the nice fresh look.

Lara

Richard,

I see your work becoming stronger with every image you post. I think that your hard work is paying off in leaps and bounds.

Leslie is a terific painter, and a great teacher as well. I always look forward to seeing your new portraits.

And yes, fantastic likeness!

PS I appreciate the background observations; still, I like very much the way you have handled the subject as a vignette (OK maybe we should start a new thread...)

I think that you have very successfully integrated the figure with the ground, much more difficult that it might seem at first blush.

For those who drop in, I have known Richard for quite a long time, and he has been very focused on excellence in his work. I know that he puts in many hours, and seeks out excellent teachers.

Richard, it really shows.

Debra, hi, when I saw your portrait of Richard I noticed he did have the same shirt on. Mr. DeMille did a portrait of him a while back called "Diablo" shown here. He commented that he wore that shirt for him, also!

Lara, thank you for your observations. I did block in the background at the end of the day. The yellows you see are actually an olive green, also more muted in real life. But maybe a darker tone would work better.

Chris, thank you very much for the kind words. Of course, one of the excellent teachers I've studied under is you!

Sincerely,

Richard,

I like this piece very much. It has a lot of life to it. The color is fresh and not overworked. Do more from life! Don't worry about composition and background so much. Pastel is tricky to manage at first and this shows how much your mastery of a difficult medium has come along.

I was talking to a friend of mine, a well known pastellist, she says that you have to get aquainted with the pastel colors. So you know , say, that, Sennelier mummy # 110, is just the right highlight color. It is somewhat like learning the placement of letters on a typewriter. You kind of have familiarize yourself with the countless colors and values. After a while it comes almost automatically. That is until you buy another set of pastels!

Dragoon your relatives and friends. I would but they refuse to wear tutus!

Sincerely,

Thank you, Sharon, your comments mean very much to me. Mr. DeMille emphasizes a loose, fresh feeling in his portrait teachings.

I agree in that I should work more from life. I think I may just drag in some friends/family to model for me. However, there are a few of them that neither you or I would want to see in a tutu!

Sincerely,

Richard,

I know how difficult it is to work from a model in pastel and keep it fresh. I can't imagine doing it in somebody elses studio where I don't have all my pastels at hand. Dragging along a limted amount of colors to a workshop and coming up with such a wonderful result is something to be proud of.

I will await your next live portrait.

Sincerely,