Michael
 

I have at last completed another portrait in oils, my fourth so far. It is of my son Michael, painted from sketches and photographs taken by me while he was visiting and from memory. I was not happy with the overall composition, but liked this photo for it's lighting and his expression, so went along with it. Now that it's done, I've grown used to it and I'm fairly pleased with the result, although I wish I could loosen up more! I also need to paint more often!

Very nice work.
Just out of curiosity, I would like to know why you didn't paint his knee.

Claudemir,

Thanks for your kind comment. Good question about the knee! I assume you are asking why I didn't paint it "bare"?Firstly, I decided to have more space between his head and the top of the canvas, which meant making adjustments to the bottom, leaving so little of his leg showing that I thought that a small flesh coloured patch wouldn't make sense. Secondly, even if I had more space, I probably would have still made the knee clothed to make it more "formal". Does that make sense?

It makes a lot of sense to me now, I just didn't realize there was a clothed knee there. :D

OK, I see now, the image on my computer screen is darker than the actual painting. (I have a hard time adjusting photos of my paintings in Photoshop). In the actual painting the knee is much lighter, indicating some sort of fabric. I know it would have looked better with more of the arm and leg showing, Oh, well, next time!

Very nice painting and excellent likeness, Bob.

Thanks, Thomasin, I appreciate your comments.

I got your point, that's what I was thinking about.

Bob, I like the pose. It's different in a way that seems to directly relate to the subject, your son. Great likeness, too.

Alexandra, thank you so much for your kind words, I need all the encouragement I can get! I must agree that the likeness in this painting is pretty close. This is due, I'm sure, to the fact that I did a lot of measuring with a pair of proportional dividers, a method which I find works better for me than any of the other methods of copying a photo. Also, knowing one's subject well can't hurt, either!