Portrait by the water
 

Hi,

Just want to share a recently completed commission.

Hi Julie,

Great job! I think this is your finest work. You should be proud of your growth.

Thanks, Marvin. Slowly but surely...I'm continuing to plug away at it.

Hi Julie,
This is wonderful -- you've captured the feel of sunlight on skin beautifully! and the water and landscape behind him is nicely done too :)

Thanks, Terri.

If you stay aware of the principles that guided the great artists your path will continue to be revealed.

Julie, I'm so impressed! Not only is this a masterful portrait, the landscape behind it is magnificent.

First, the figure. I like how he's looking of, not at the viewer, but at something else, maybe his surroundings or maybe he's deep in thought and just gazing absently. The light and shadow colors and values on his skin are just right! I also love the placement of the figure.

As for the landscape, again the colors and values are extraordinarily true -to-life. The colors are harmonious with the figure, but subdued so that the figure stands out. It appears to be a particular place, but you have not given in to too much detail. The rock he's standing on is a great lead-in to the water and shore.

A work of art!

Thanks, Marvin. I greatly appreciated the lessons I learned in your workshop, and am endeavoring to keep them in mind.

By the way, I finally get to visit the Met this summer, and will be thinking of your lecture "Everything I know about Painting I learned at the Met" as I visit!

Wow, thanks, Alexandra,

I worked hard on the composition, using what Juliette Aristides calls the "Armature of the Rectangle". Patty Joyce saw my original oil sketch and can testify that there was a noticeable improvement in composition using those design principles.

I used this color palette:
2 blues: cobalt and manganese
2 reds: alizarin crimson and cadmium
2 yellows: naples dark and yellow ochre
1 black: ivory black
Raw umber

Oh, and a touch of gold ochre in the hair. I am a believer in choosing a color palette according to what I think the painting needs.

I feel that I could have put more crispness and value contrast into the rocks, but I am pleased overall, so thank you.

I love this. The edges are modeled beautifully. This piece is very pleasing to the eye. My favorite of yours by far!

Thanks, Mike.

Hi Julie, I love it too.

The light and how all the local colors relate to the light is masterfully rendered.

The pose / composition is very pleasing, could you tell something more about the rectangle thing?

Congratulations on a wonderful finished product! It feels good to finish a commission, doesn't it? Well done.

The boy is wonderful, but above all the mood here is marvelous. I love that light. I love that weather, the evening rolling dark clouds with long low light. I crave it and you satisfied me. A pleasure to watch.
dj*

Many thanks.

Allan, it is a way of dividing a canvas according to geometric proportions. It's not a foolproof method, but it helped me align significant lines in the composition to relate to the rectangle shape within which they were contained. Here is one link, although I prefer Aristides' book with her examples:
http://artiseternal.wordpress.com/20...e-proportions/

Natalie, yes, it was satisfying to see the mom's and grandma's delight with the finished product.

Thanks, Debra. I am glad you enjoy it.

Just Beautiful!
 

Julie, I am completely charmed by your painting! I admire every part of it, from his expression to your style. The parents of the child have a real gem!

This is one of the most intelligent and unsentimental children's portraits I have seen. You have allowed a glimpse of a future "emerging adult" while at the present depicting the boy. Bravo! Love it!

Thanks, Carol and Debra. However, I have a confession to make. The family moved to Europe before I was able to get a good reference photo. A friend of theirs took the photo, and it was a wonderful shot. My part was to work on the composition and the painting. His mom considers the painting as one way to remember their stay overseas.

This started me thinking: was it okay to post here when the reference photo wasn't mine? I feel that since I took it as raw material, refined it and produced a portrait from it, that it was okay to share the results.

Terrific, Julie!

Great feeling for the light. I'm with the other folks...I think this is one of your best.

--TE

Your painting in process ws eye opening for me and breathtaking even in it's earliest stages. I knew this would be your best work to date. I wish I coud see the finished papinting in person, but Julie, it is really beautiful. I, too, love your palette, how everything works so well together, the boy against a beautiful landscape which you had to compose from a so-so image. The landscape is beautiful but in now way detracts from the subject.

Thanks, Tom and Patty.

Patty, it was so good having your input at the early stages. Having another trained eye look at thing is so helpful!

Julie,

All the praise is much deserved. This is a stunning portrait. I love the intelligent composition and magnificent depth of space. The orchestration of the sky-scape is a perfect compliment to complete and anchor the drama of the standing figure. This one has a classic appeal that will endure. Well done!

Garth

Thanks so much, Garth!