Portrait of a little girl
 

Hi all,

This is a portrait of a little girl I did very recently.

I would like to have some critique and sugestions from you, so I can improve my portraits.

Thank you so much.
Rui Manuel

Here is my reference photo. I forgot to say: it is oil on canvas.

Dear Rui,

You are off to a good start, with a very strong likeness. At this point the major things you might look for are the shapes in the hair that are different in value, so you can develop a feel for the way it flows; also, check the placement of the eyebrow on our left.

There are a couple of things that will make this portrait difficult: first and most important, the photo has been taken with a flash attachment, and that's why you have no real light and shadow patterns to work with. The flash also works against being able to see differences in color and temperature. Second, it's very difficult to paint a wide smile with lots of gum showing...have you seen the thread here on painting teeth?

Best wishes,

I like the way you changed the color of her garments in order to unify the color composition of the piece. It works.

Rui,

It seems to me that her left side coat is a little difficult to explain. You might want to consider eliminating it. Something like below.

Hi again. Thank you all for your time! :)

Your advice was very important! I will make the necessary changes. And the thread about painting teeth is so rich on good ideas!

See you soon,
Rui

Browns
 

I like how this painting started out. It looks like it needs a little more browns in the face area as well as some hightlights.

I agree with Chris. You obviously have the ability to capture a likeness, but working without light-shadow contrast (i.e., wth a flash reference photo) is not going to help you much. In other words, you can't model light and shadow that is not there.

With respect to grins and teeth, I think the idea of a portrait is to capture something timeless, the essential characteristics and the soul of a person, rather than an instantaneous moment. The combination of "flash" lighting and toothy grin makes it look more like a copy of a photo than a portrait. It's an important philosophical point to consider, because it relates to how you use your references, and also your control over your references. If someone gives you a snapshot of a child and says "can you paint a portrait from this?" I would certainly be able to copy the photo, but if the person is alive, I would say, "If you want me to paint a portrait I have to take my own reference photos," and I would take them the way Chris described. Even better, I would try to do a life study and work from a combination of the two.

I have to say I prefer your color choices to the use of brown in the shadow areas, as this might lead to muddiness. I also prefer the coat lapels the way you have them.

Alex

Well ... I know for sure Rui came a long way since posting this two years ago :) His latest stuff is great!

Hi Rui,

I must agree that this is not an easy reference photo to use. I think you have to invent some shadow areas to emphasize the 3D forms.

You could make a broad contour along the coat, starting from her right cheek and down to the button of the painting, indicating that the light comes from a point a little more left than it actually does.

Likewise you could adjust the shadow areas on her left cheek and under the nose.

You will see what works. It does not need to be much to work.

Allan