The quilt
 

Hi,

This is a 30"X20" of my husband's mother, Angie, working on one of her quilts. I'd love any comments on what might be done to improve this piece.

Thanks,

Holly

Holly

This is a complex composition and I think that you have come a long way.

You can get a more convincing light effect if you gray down the bricks at the fireplace wall, and also the rag doll. A darker value on the wall will make the fire flame too.

Allan

Hi Holly,

I get a feeling of cozy warmth and peace when I look at this. You've portrayed this feeling very well and the look on your subject's face is perfect.

The only thing which troubles me is the composition, specifically the empty (though it's brick) expanse between her head and the doll on the mantle. I'd like to see them tied in with something to connect them though I can't think of anything at the moment. You might think also of eliminating everything in the background altogether, except for the fire. Hmmm. I'll have to think about this one.

Did you do a thumbnail sketch before you started? I'm working on a big complicated painting at the moment - lots of furniture and "stuff" in the background - and I've decided to make painting-size cartoons on heavy paper with charcoal. Things which look okay sketched at 3" x 5" don't always look okay when scaled up to painting size. I'm now on my second cartoon with this painting and I'm getting impatient but I'm forcing myself not to try to wing it.

Now that I'm using expensive linens and panels I am trying really hard to correct any huge problems early on and save myself tons of grief down the road. Composition is a big, big issue and isn't addressed often enough, either in art classes or in the Forum.

Here's what you might do: take a look at art books for tips on how other artists have handled this kind of compositional setup. If I run across an idea I'll post one for you.

I think Linda has made a good point about doing a thumbnail color and composition study before proceeding.

I like the strong pyramidal composition of the figure and the quilt falling to the floor. The whole structure of the chair woman and quilt would work alone with only a strong vertical device to balance the composition on the right hand side. The fireplace is too busy and the doll at the end pulls the eye away. Even if you were to keep the fire place it should be dulled with a complementary color, which in this example would probably be green. The bricks would have been better if they had been suggested rather than individually painted.

Velasquez is a good example to study, his pictures are good examples of what to adumbrate and what to focus.

See if you can find some examples of the Boston School, like Tarbell, Benson and Paxton to see how beautifully interior domestic subjects can be handled.

Thank you all very much for the feedback. I suspected that the background items should be dulled and darkened, but was hesitant about painting over the bricks and doll. At this point I think I'll simply dull the fireplace and doll, rather than do anything drastic, and move on to bigger and better things : ). I did do a little study of Angie, but from a photo taken from a more frontal angle, and on the advice of fellow artists I chose this angle. My impatience also got the best of me, so I didn't do a study of this angle. Regardless, I do need to develop a better eye for composition. I tend to focus far too much on modeling and skin tones and edges, etc. (the details) when looking at art books, instead of the big picture (design and composition).

On another note, I'll have a couple days in Boston in mid-July to peruse the Boston Museum, Gardner Museum, and Newbury Street. I plan on seeing if your painting, Sharon, is still at the Copley Society. Are there any particular galleries on Newbury Street that you could recommend Sharon?

Thanks,

Holly