Thread: Self-portrait
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Old 05-16-2006, 09:47 AM   #6
Sharon Knettell Sharon Knettell is offline
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,730
What a pleasure this is to see. I love the direct boldness of the face.

I am so impressed that this effort is from life. This is the proper way to begin and learn. Photographs never give you all the information you need and most beginners I noticed are tracing them and filling in the color. That is not the way to a definable style.

Two things I would work on:

A: The neck area. Squint as you are looking at it , soften the area of the farthest collar bone and some of the neck muscles.
B: The color. Remember the complementaries. If you use a yellow green scarf, a cool red background would be appropriate. Work the color arrangement out before you start. Keep changing the background drape until you find the right color harmony. You will know, it should have a pleasant vibration. Do quick small color studies first. They save you a lot of time in the end.
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