Figurative prayer
 

I really wanted to avoid bothering you guys again, so I thought I would just bother Mike, but he cannot open my attachments. (If anyone is having a like problem or could address this in the computer section - I would really appreciate it. Problem; Outlook Express on a MAC sent to a PC running AOL.)

This is a figurative piece I want to do since I have been focused on prayer and keeping myself busy.

These are of my oldest daughter (turns 18 in the am! Yikes, of course I was a 14 year old teen when she was born.) I would like to add a very small subtle cross as a tattoo towards the back of her shoulder.

Honestly, I have picked one that I like, but not trusting myself yet, I would love your input.

Thanks!

This is the second set:

I went ahead and shot these in black and white, but I did use a digital camera, so I am sure it does not achieve the depth Marvin's (whose Greensboro, NC, workshop I am attending in June) film black and whites.

I thought I would try to work this way and see how it goes.

AKA Mike
 

Beth,

Your photography is much, much better, has more control and is more exciting and evocative. They are all lovely.

Trust youself at this point. Pick from the group of the 5 black ones. You can take off your training wheels on this one. Choose the one that communicates the best what you have to say, that is really the most important thing now.

I want to know your choice, but I don't want to know until you present the final piece. I just wanna see the pitcher. I am not coming back here.

Go for it Beth!

AKA Sharon,

I would have to agree with Mike on this one, your judgement would be best.

Why do you consider this a "figurative?"

Personally, I would reconsider what the cross might do to the composition of these simple elegant poses. I find that when you have reduced your figure down to these bare shapes (and well done), to take away or add the smallest compositional elements can destroy all your good work.

Thank you both! I will not tell which one Sharon. :)

Mike I call it a figurative piece because it is not the way you would usually find my daughter. On my 40 th, oops I meant 30th birthday a friend gave me the lace "Cathollic head dress" from pre_Vatican II days for gift wrap. So with all the piercings in her ears I thought a small tattoo would work, but I'll save that for last.

I will tell you from progress today, it is frightening to look at all the dark space around the figure. So I have been busy downloading other "master portraits" to see (the best I can) how they handled the darkness. I also re-read a lot of the Leffel book, the one with the green apples since he seemed to love this challange.

I must say, so far this is some of the nicest "skin" I have painted. I grabbed the thread where Marvin (whose workshop I am attending in NC this June) actually told his palette colors!

It's not as simple as black and white.
 

Beth,

The purpose of shooting black and white film is twofold. Film is capable of capturing only so much information. What it retains in terms of color it sacrifices in terms of value. B&W film is designed to be sensitive to value subtlety. Secondly, B&W film offers one the possibility of creating an extended range of values by altering the development time. So it is possible to have your negatives retain a much greater range of values than color film.

In the digital realm, the range of values is measured by D-max. The higher the number the wider the range. Kodak makes a digital camera back whose value range extends to a twelve value range (very wide) that allows for tonal detail in both highlights and shadows.

The photos you have displayed are very dense in the shadows and darks and don't afford any information there. This lack of information will make your task more difficult. You have another painting you just posted and you said you had problems seeing the eye in shadow. This is a symptom of the same problem, too narrow a value range. I think that this is a function of your camera's limited D-max range. Converting to B&W will not extend your value range any further. The only advantage of working from the black and white reference is that you will not be influenced by the color of the photos.

One of the greatest challenges that realists have always faced was how to get a sufficient amount of information to create the pictures they envision. Painting is in many ways, the easy part.

On a separate note I'm glad you chose to sign up for my workshop. I'm looking forward to meeting you.

I have posted the portrait in oil at: Prayer