BJ, from 30 years ago
 

This woman's husband wanted a three-quarter figure painting based on his wife's college photo. I photographed her own present-day figure. I know the midtones in the chest area are too dark. Help! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Besides the too-red cheeks and light skin, why does she look like a clown?

Here's my "composite photo."

Jen, you placed a teenager's face on a 40+ adult's figure, which right away throws off your body proportions. I don't think her chest area would have been this much developed back when she was a teen. Take the painting infront of a mirror and look at the mirror image. You will ee right away that her head is too small for her body.

Because of your bad resource photo (too flat and washed out), you don't have all the information needed to make the cheeks turn gradually. I would take the black and white image to Photo Shop and play around with Image/Adjustments/Levels. Maybe there you can get more information about the different values of her cheeks.

Good Luck!

Her mouth is softer than the eyes and eyebrows - try and soften those hard edges with some blending and maybe toning down the contast...this could help with the cartoony-feel a bit. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the comments.

Another problem I'm having is in the cheek area, where I've overworked it. There's no more canvas texture, and it's slick. Should I scrape it down, sand it, or is there another way?

If it's still wet and you can scrape it do that. Sanding on canvas will leave shiny patches that are another whole problem. I've heard it can be done right - but I've never figured it out.

Hi Jen--
There a very short thread about 'restoring tooth' here. I thought the bit about the onion sounded like an interesting approach... but have never tried it myself. . .

Hello Jen,

Good luck with the portrait. One of the exciting aspects of our field in my opinion is that with an extra push, we can get beyond almost any trouble in the painting.

I refer to the Old Masters when I have a question about a painting or drawing. It is rare to see teeth in an Old Master portrait. I believe it is a reason why you feel you are getting the 'clown' feeling. My feeling is that the Old Masters, particularly an artist like Rembrandt had an emotional depth in their portraits that is rarely seen today. College graduation photos often have superficial smiles. You may want to play around with the smile if you believe you can do it without losing the likeness.

It is often difficult taking a commission like this for the fact that the person desiring the painting doesn't understand these subtleties (I know I don't know how to spell subtlties) and may choose a weak photo for the artist to work with. But with the right attitude we can gain from any experience. I'd love to see the painting when it is done.

Anthony Emmolo (Happy to be back with the forum after a two year break during a divorce from my wife.) :sunnysmil

I'm shipping it off, like it or not.
 

Terri, thanks for the tip to the thread on restoring tooth. I happen to own a can of retouch varnish from my college years. Here all this time I thought it was just the quick fix gloss to spray on twenty minutes before the assignment was critiqued! I knew it worked to pick up areas of dull paint, but no one ever told me it actually improved the working surface!

Anthony, alas, I think we are victims of our modern perceptions. Every time I draw or paint a person without that signature "say cheese" smile, I get comments about how sad or depressed he looks. My husband thinks even half my smiling visages look too sad. And he seems to represent the everyman in his views, because my clients comments almost always mirror his. I suppose it is up to us to express our society how they want to be remembered. And since technology can capture the most fleeting expression...

Actually this portrait started out from life, but the husband didn't want his wife to be memorialized forever as a placid 50-something woman. He wanted "that look she gives me." When our attempts to capture that certain "look" failed, his next preferred option was to use his favorite old photo of her. So, here we are. He loves it; she's not sure it looks like her. But he's the client.

Good luck Jen,

I understand the dilemma. I hope you're happy with the portrait. Move on to the next one now with what you've learned here.

Anthony

Palette selection
 

The colors are a little ruddy. Perhaps you are using the burnt sienna and umbers too much. Other choices might give you a warmer and richer skin tone.

I must confess. I was trying out some of the colors from Marvin M's palette for the first time. But, alas, I was trying to make substitutions in a recipe that I have never tried. My husband has very particular palette when it comes to food, and has warned me against this tendency many times.

However, I use water-soluble oils, and can't get the Naples yellow he recommends, so I fell back on cad yellow. And I couldn't let go of a couple of my favorites: sap green (instead of viridian), cadmium orange. I admit I struggled with the new reds (Indian and Venetian), but upon further research, it is probably due to the fact that I always use titanium white because lead white scares me.

I'm sure I had other anomolies in there, too. I have been using pretty much the same palette for years, so all this variation leaves me unsure of the final mix. So, what do you know, I guess you shouldn't marinate chicken in red wine after all.

Jen,

I know you have had a problem with this from the get go. Trying to meld a 20 something photo with a 50 something body is not working.

In the future you HAVE to hold the reins a little tighter unless you have starving children. You either do a botox picture of her in the present or a painted copy of a favorite photo. This you have to make clear to the client.
A portrait business is often built on word of mouth. When I have gotten in a situation like this in the far distant past, I have signed it with an undecipherable cartouche. Remember your paintings are your calling cards.

If he is happy with it let it go and learn from it. Remember you are more than a hired brush to paint other peoples visions. If you keep listening to the audience you will never find you own authentic voice, melancholic or cheery.

O.K., just tell me where to get a hold of some Skele-Gro, and I'll work on developing more backbone. To be honest I've done several works like these, mostly drawings. They usually don't make it into the portfolio. But as for the "hired brush" comment...well, I was trained as an illustrator. But I gratefully take advice from a reformed commercial hack! Thanks!