Smiling Bar Mitzvah portrait + sister/brother
 

I was having difficulty with this portrait because the boy is quite heavy--and his mom loves his eyes, but also wanted him smiling(which makes his eyes get quite narrow.)

This seems to come up quite a bit with smiles and eyes--(I'm finding the teeth problem more easily avoided)

Also--any suggestions for the border? I tried taking a motif from the prayer shawl but it was too distracting. that's his Hebrew name on the bottom of the painting.

Also the color looks more broken up in the jpeg-- more blended and not as saturated in real life. (!4"x18")

The other painting has been less problematic--the parents are basically happy with it and I'm in the fine tuning phase, but any comments would be much appreciated (30"x30")

Thanks!
Andrea Kantrowitz

Bar Mitzvah Portrait
 

Andrea, I agree with you on the border and for a couple of additional reasons that you might keep in mind for future paintings. I think the border's placement is crowding the head too closely. It is creating an Escher-like illusion - that is, it appears to be in front of the boy on the top and left sides, but behind him on our right. This is happening mainly because of the sharp edges and the high contrast.

I love the idea of borders - some of the most successful I have seen include Paul McCormack's Karen and quite a number of Daniel Greene's images http://www.portraitartist.com/halloffame/greene.htm . Borders are, at least to me, fascinating - they can be such strong compositional elements and can solve a number of spacial challenges. Actually this makes me think we should start a compositional thread on the use of borders....

I love the concept of the Hebrew lettering! I don't feel, though, that it works where it's placed as well as it might if used in some alternative way. Have you noticed the portraits by karin Wells - where she places the lettering almost as if it's inscribed on the wall behind the subject? Here's a link to one of her paintings: http://www.portraitartist.com/wells/zabie.htm She also has successfully placed the lettering on a place in front of the subject as in this piece http://www.portraitartist.com/wells/butterworth.htm

But in either situation, the lettering is clearly subordinated to the subject - in size, value color and edge quality - so that it stays where it needs to, visually. Like anything else, it's also a purposeful part of the overall composition.

You could likewise think about incorporating your lettering in similar ways. Last, you might check the drawing of the yarmulke - the outer edge on our left may be cut too close - if the drawing look right, you can probably solve this one easily with a softer edge.

Thanks for your comments, Chris, they were very helpful. I actually have that portrait of Robert Beverly Hale by Dan Greene (i studied with Hale when I was a kid) pinned on my studio wall-but wasn't consciously paying attention to it.

I do admire the way Karin uses lettering--I was going for a more calligraphic look, but I can see its not working yet.

Thanks so much Chris!
 

Hi--I just wanted to let you know that I took Chris' advice, and the mom is really happy--its leading to other commissions which I'm really happy about to --so thanks Chris!!

Andrea,

This is a beautiful portrait, your colors are so crisp and clear. And I think the border adds to the portrait, what a great element, you were able to figure out a very effective way of using a border. I am sure the parents will cherish this portrait forever.

Well done!

Joan

P.S. I too would like to see a threat on borders. I'll start one if there isn't one already, I'll do a search first.

Dear Andrea,

You have really applied some successful solutions, congratulations!

Hi Andrea,

I also like this very much; I just wanted to add that I really like the way you've handled the fabric on this painting.

I'm also a big border fan. Borders and letters have been used for centuries and I have art books with many beautiful examples. Chris, if you start a thread I'll post some of the examples that I've found.

Andrea, how about re-posting your sister/brother painting in a separate thread?