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Steven Sweeney · 06-03-2007, 10:14 PM

Not the wrong forum, I don't think -- just a critique area that was a rather late addition to the forum, and it unfortunately kind of gets placed in the line-up below critiques of more traditional "portrait" work, so that the section gets relatively less attention.

I say "unfortunately," because anyone who is going to paint more of the portrait subject than a head and shoulders is necessarily going to be getting into some of the gesture of the figure, which in turn will play a very large role in the overall mood and composition.

However, the fact is that many folks skipped the figure drawing training and practice, and went straight to shooting reference photos without fully appreciating the power of the figure or, more often, accepted a client's profferred school or studio photos or snapshots, and set out to copy whatever figurative design was already there.

This fact of the business means that relatively few practitioners have figure drawings and paintings of their own to show for critique, and -- having never done them -- they may not really know how to comment by way of critique.

Also, we sometimes do view a new post, but for whatever reason do not comment at the time, and then of course the next time we sign on, it's no longer highlighted as "new" and brought back to our attention, and with the passage of even a short time and the posting of additional images throughout the critiques area, some posts get orphaned.

If you (or anyone reading this) feel this has happened and you'd really like some feedback, a nifty "trick" is to post your own reply and ask a specific question, such as "Does anyone feel that the drapery [or the hair or the ears] needs a greater value range to create the form?" I've rarely seen such a follow-up question linger without response.

These things are affected, too, just by the time of year. Holidays get slow. Right now everyone's looking at the end of the school year, the upcoming June weddings, and so on. Be persistent -- it will be essential "out there" in the art business, so practice here.

06-03-2007, 10:14 PM	#4
Steven Sweeney Juried Member PT 5+ years Joined: Nov 2001 Location: Stillwater, MN Posts: 1,801	Not the wrong forum, I don't think -- just a critique area that was a rather late addition to the forum, and it unfortunately kind of gets placed in the line-up below critiques of more traditional "portrait" work, so that the section gets relatively less attention. I say "unfortunately," because anyone who is going to paint more of the portrait subject than a head and shoulders is necessarily going to be getting into some of the gesture of the figure, which in turn will play a very large role in the overall mood and composition. However, the fact is that many folks skipped the figure drawing training and practice, and went straight to shooting reference photos without fully appreciating the power of the figure or, more often, accepted a client's profferred school or studio photos or snapshots, and set out to copy whatever figurative design was already there. This fact of the business means that relatively few practitioners have figure drawings and paintings of their own to show for critique, and -- having never done them -- they may not really know how to comment by way of critique. Also, we sometimes do view a new post, but for whatever reason do not comment at the time, and then of course the next time we sign on, it's no longer highlighted as "new" and brought back to our attention, and with the passage of even a short time and the posting of additional images throughout the critiques area, some posts get orphaned. If you (or anyone reading this) feel this has happened and you'd really like some feedback, a nifty "trick" is to post your own reply and ask a specific question, such as "Does anyone feel that the drapery [or the hair or the ears] needs a greater value range to create the form?" I've rarely seen such a follow-up question linger without response. These things are affected, too, just by the time of year. Holidays get slow. Right now everyone's looking at the end of the school year, the upcoming June weddings, and so on. Be persistent -- it will be essential "out there" in the art business, so practice here. __________________ Steven Sweeney [email protected] "You must be present to win."