Subtlety
 

If there is one particular area that I struggle with more than anything it's subtlety. Perhaps this is related to my engineering background of looking at details but it's one of those "demons" I must overcome.

I am curious if anyone has any recommendations on how to better see these subtle gradations of value in a portrait or particular areas to always look for? For example, the lower lip is typically an area that should have a soft blend into the lower part of the face.

I know the first thing that comes to mind is to work from life, which I am doing alot more of but I still find myself wanting to say to the viewer,"Look how well drawn and defined this area is", which is clearly not the objective.

Any thoughts?

Mike
 

The trick is to paint what you see (from life)and not what you think.

Mike,

If I understand your concern correctly, I would offer a few reminders:

* View the painting from a distance very, very often.
* View it in its entirety, not just piecemeal.
* Pay particular attention to edges.

Hi Mike,

I've gotten into the habit of taking a digital photo of my work at the end of the working day. (I keep it in its own seperate 'Work in Progress' file, and I date it so I don't confuse myself.)

Two things to remember: 1. photographing your reference pulls apart (and also clumps together) values more than in real-life; and 2. (this is why you are photographing your work-in-process) photographing your painting pulls apart values more than are apparent in the real-life painting. In other words, what looks okay on your easel may look choppy once you photograph it. What I usually discover from the photograph of my painting is that I need to make more gradual value changes than what I have painted.

Photographs of paintings also intensify chroma, especially in cadmium colors. This "reads" to me as a value change although technically it probably isn't. I've been trying to calm down my color lately (ha!) and so I've been leveling those chroma changes.

If I photograph my painting each day I get a "heads up" as to where my painting is running amuck, and if I'm lucky I can divert a train wreck before it's too late.

How your paintings reproduce in a photograph is critical to how one is perceived as a painter, since it's rare to see a specific artist's paintings hung on a wall.

Just wanted to add that one person's 'subtle' is another person's 'dull and boring'; just as one person's 'dramatic' is another's 'crass and tasteless'. It's all just a taste issue. I think all artists should paint according to his/her taste, using his/her best technique and trust that your market finds you. Just my humble opinion.

Seeing the subtleties has to do with being an educated looker.

I think painting what you see depends greatly on what you choose to see. The number of receptors in your eyes greatly out numbers the the pathways from your eye to your brain. This means you have to make decisions on what to focus on from the get go.

Training is what makes the difference. Ten people will witness the same crime yet each will have a recollection of the perpetrator according to their own criteria. The shoe salesman remembers Gucci loafers, the hairdresser recalls a beehive hairdo while the plastic surgeon recollects a very big nose with a mole.

What you see is based entirely on what you know. Thus the phrase "paint what you know not what you see." One area, for example, that I notice working with my students, is the inability to see reflected colors in shadows. Once they are properly directed on what to look for, the unity in their paintings improves greatly.

Tim,Mike,Linda,Marvin:

Thanks for all your input on this thread so far. Many of your points are verification of some of my own that I have discovered, while others are eye-opening.

Linda: I think your practice of taking digital shots after each session is a terrific idea. Even though the photograph may not be an exact representation, it will at least throw up some red flags. Less chroma is also an area that I've been working on. It seems with the addition of more neutrals I've been able to achieve more realistic flesh tones.

Marvin: You said the magic words:"knowing what to look for." That's the key. I certainly believe that we should paint what we see but the key is knowing how to see correctly. I remember evertime I would paint a nostril the shadow area would almost always be black or a dark umber. I began visiting the museum several times a week (And I still do) and noticed that sometimes the nostrils would be painted a deep red, which in the setting appeared completely normal and realistic. The "head is a ball" is something I think we must have imbedded in our conscious in order to be able to look for the reflected light within the shadows.

Education & Observance.

Mike,

At the beginning of my classes or workshops I always apologize to people for the false pretenses with which I lured them into my clutches.

I explain that my class is listed as "how to paint" when it really should be billed as "how to see." I explain that if I listed it as "how to see" people wouldn't sign up. Because everyone thinks they already know how to see they just want to learn how to paint.

Fortunately everybody gets it and fortunately they choose to remain in my clutches.