Advice needed

[Henry Wienhold]

Hello, everyone.

I painted this oil portrait using a photograph as reference. I was trying something new with composition and I thought the lady's head resting on her hand might be interesting, but I have always felt unsettled with the results. Does the arm distract from the subject's face, or does it look natural? Maybe I should have painted the lady's hand exposed rather than covered with her hair. What do you think?

Henry

[Mari DeRuntz]

Wow, nice work!

I think the hand works but the structure looks a little off. The fingers of the hand would wrap around the side and back of the head, as you've got it, the fingers come straight out of the hand and push the hair out in an unnatural way. Try holding your hand that way and you will see how uncomfortable it is.

I think the other caution is with a pose like this -- it's hard for the viewer not to see that hand as something growing out of the side of the face.

Other than that structural detail, very nice painting. Please post more work!

[Mike McCarty]

Does the arm distract from the subject's face, or does it look natural? Maybe I should have painted the lady's hand exposed rather than covered with her hair. What do you think?

I think I share your concerns. Otherwise a very nice work. I like the idea of merging the hand and fingers into the hair. It tends to explain things a little more without going too hard in either direction. I hope you don't mind my posting an example of my meaning.

[Henry Wienhold]

Thank you, Mari and Mike, for taking the time to respond. I like both of your suggestions; the both of you have confirmed my indecisiveness towards this painting. It's funny how sometimes you need a few extra pairs of eyes and ideas, about certain painting problems to help you see more clearly. I agree with you, Mike, I should probably suggest more of the hand by showing a few fingers, that way the viewer will have a better understanding and feel more comfortable with the image. I also realize now that I could have placed more shadow and darkened the values of the wrist, since it's on the shadow side of the face.

Thanks again,
Henry

[Jeanine Jackson]

This is terrific!

My concern is more with her left shoulder. Is she wearing shoulder pads? The bump seems high adding to the tension you feel about the wrist, IMHO.

The volume of hair over the hand has a nice compositional quality. I happen to have very thick hair, and once those fingers get buried underneath, there's no telling what they are doing! I do agree, however, with the wise comments above.

Delightful portrait.

[Henry Wienhold]

Thank you for the compliments, Jeanine.

Yes, she is wearing shoulder pads. She feels they add to her attractiveness; I explained the padded blouse wasn't necessary, and of course her shoulders would appear higher than normal, but she didn't seem to mind. She insisted on that particular blouse. I like the way the green color helps pronounce the dark red coloring of her hair.

Her hair is very thick; the extra volume in the appearance is this woman's natural look. I like the composition of her hair too, thanks.

Henry