Two nudes
 

Two nude studies from the life, both 11x14" oil on panel. Comments welcome.

Richard, these are beautiful! I especially like the first one - the pose and color choices are great.

Ah the photobucket censors are at it again.
I think you will have to upload them on the SOG servers.
dj*

yep! I couldn't check them either.

Sorry for that . . . I didn't realize I was posting "porn" to photobucket. (bah!)

I'm trying to find a better way to post images here. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Deb, how do you use the SOG server?

just reduce your picture to 400 width 600 high dpi and give it a smattering of reduction. Then below is the MANAGE ATTACHMENTS button.

If your editing program is too complex for all that, you can use Photobucket before they find you... upload it, then resize it to 400 width, save it and right click to copy it from the server. Create the new file from your clipboard and it will be perfect. Takes Photobucket a few days to find you... then delete the file from there.
EVERY one of my old nudes from other forums is slowly dribbling off their server. A few months ago, the eyeball police got into it.
I understand you can use flickr and picasa too, but it irks me that I am PAYING Photobucket NOT to host my photos. Maybe a mass emailing will have an effect, but it is a little late to boycott them.
dj*

Thanks, Deb! I guess I figured it out. (?)

I'm irked, because I find photobucket easy to use, and strictly speaking an image of a painting certainly does not violate their guidelines.

I was going to send them a "whining" e-mail, but couldn't see any opening on their site to communicate via e-mail. Oh well. Minor annoyance!

The optical red on the first one is really stunning.
Are they from life?
dj*

these are beautiful. I especially enjoy the first one. Real solid paintings. I start a painting the figure from life class next week, so these are great for me to study. Very nice work.

Thank you for the kind comments.

Deb, yes, they're from the life. I started these with line drawings using Nupastel ("terracotta") on a grey-toned panel. The optical red began from "nursing" the line drawing . . . rather serendipity-doo-dah!

Great pieces! I liked them both, but the first one is the one I'd like to hang on my wall.

What a treat!
 

Just gorgeous, Richard!

Richard, these are wonderfully done and I like the subtle use of the optical red. I am puzzled however by the strong brown line from the top of her shoulder down along her right breast. Is my monitor playing tricks with me or was that line intentional?

Thank you all for your kind comments. Richard, thank you for the "fresh eye". Now as I look at the monitor image, that line jumps right out at me, and it is totally inappropriate.

With apologies for whatever vagaries reproduction has wrought, and the variation from monitor to monitor, I am aware of two things, at least as far as I'm seeing that piece on my own monitor . . . it is appearing much warmer, and the "op red" lines are less subtle than in the original.

As to the offending brown line, now I have to go and see if it's as annoying in real life as it appears here . . . it's currently in an exhibit through the end of November, but I'll check it out Thursday . . .

Back from the front! I found the original presents less distinctions of the "op red" and similar tones than the monitor image does. That said, the upper end of the "wicked line" intended to be another fold at the juncture of arm and toso, is rather overdone. In "real life" it does not connect with a similar warm tone at the base of the breast, as the monitor image suggests, but when I get it back, I'm going to make a change in that passage, thank you, Richard for the fresh view, most appreciated!

The beauty of this forum is that we can get a fresh eye when we need it. I did a painting which I really liked, but every time I looked at it I knew something was wrong. It didn't get framed for a year because of that "wrongness", but I still couldn't figure out what was bothering me.

Then One day I asked one of my artist friends who was visiting from the east coast if he could figure out what was bothering me. In about 30 seconds he said the highlights on the shrubs in the background were the same value as and were competing with the highlights in the foreground figure. A few dabs of lower value paint and the "wrongness" was gone. A fresh eye made all the difference.