Kate

Clive Fullagar · 03-01-2003, 01:09 PM

Well, I haven't done this for a while. Here is a portrait of my niece, Kate. She is 19 and lives in England.

As per the spirit of this thread, this is a work in progress (you can still see the wet paint!) so your feedback would be much appreciated. Indeed this is why I am back.

The image is 22 x 37 inches, but I am thinking of cropping.

Clive Fullagar · 03-01-2003, 01:11 PM

Here is a closer shot of her face.

Clive Fullagar · 03-01-2003, 01:14 PM

Finally, the source photograph.

Michele Rushworth · 03-02-2003, 01:20 AM

Beautiful source photo, and a very nice start to the painting.

There are two things that jumped out at me at first:

1. The shadow side isn't nearly dark enough. I always start laying in the shadows first so I can see where I should go from there.

2. The eyes don't quite line up properly.

I look forward to seeing this one progress!

Sharon Knettell · 03-09-2003, 02:13 PM

Clive,

I really enjoyed your last post with that beautiful shot of the older woman. After reviewing your style, I thought your artistic bent was more towards Fairfield Porter and David Hockney.

I see that you want to continue in the more traditional vein. Peggy Baumgartner gave you some invaluable pointers in that direction. I think you need to shore up your artistic underpinning in this area if you are considering becoming a serious amateur or a full time artist. Simply relying on painting from photos is not nearly enough. You should do some serious work from life and perhaps take some workshops.

In the Cafe Guerbois section under the thread, "Critiques and Anger, A Lethal Mix", I have outlined my opinions of what to do to acheive a modicum of mastery. There are no shortcuts. This takes time.

Sincerely,

Clive Fullagar · 03-10-2003, 11:23 AM

Michele and Sharon,

Once again thank you for your feedback. Michelle, I agree with you that the value range, especially the shadows, needs to be extended. One little tip that I have picked up from the SOG message board is to paint from dark to light. I have always tended to do it the other way round. This is probably due to being a left-handed painter. When the light is from the right, establishing lights first prevents smudging the darks. However, the problem is as you point out, the shadows tend to be too light.

Sharon, your reply made me smile. I pointed my brother-in-law (the father of the subject and the person who provided me with the photograph that he took) to this thread. His reaction was similar to yours in that, knowing my style, he felt that I was trying to be too "commercial." His suggestion was to make it more contemporary and looser in style - and suggested Lucian Freud or Euan Uglow (he is British after all). It is not often that you have a 'client' say "Hey - loosen up!". So I think that I am going to do just that with this picture - make it a little more "comtemporary" and see where it goes.

To explain the title of this post - I am a full-time academic who paints mainly at the weekends. Eventually, when I retire, I dream of making a modest income from art. At the moment, unfortunately, I do not have the time to "shore up my artistic underpinning" but one day... The process of art at this stage is often more important than the end piece. I often feel most constrained when the client wants one thing and my artistic tendencies are pulling me in another direction. That is why I so enjoy painting members of my own family. So I am going to "Fairfield Porter-ize" or "Hockney-ize" or "Freudian-ize" this one and have fun doing it. Hopefully in the process, I will address Michele's issues. Thank you for reminding me though, to listen to the artist inside. I will post the results and will look forward to your feedback.

Sharon Knettell · 03-10-2003, 12:37 PM

Clive,

I am glad you took in the spirit it was intended. I love Uglows work. I think figurative work doesn't have to be classically realist to be successful.

However, I do not feel you have to abandon the quest for good "artistic underpinnings". Explore color, especially Chinese and Japanese painting and tapestries etc. They are able to organize multiple colors harmoniously in one painting. Their mastery of color is second to none.

Try to work from models when at all possible, even if you have to bribe your son. This will give your work more originality and a more personal style.

Really push your work in that direction. You may have trouble with this particular pose as a flatter style needs poses more like an Egyptian and with minimal foreshortening. Play with your perspectives and spaces. You are lucky, you do not have to worry about clients. As far as I am concerned, they are one of the biggest drags on artistic freedom and development.

Have fun! I can't wait to see your future posts.

Marta Prime · 03-19-2003, 04:18 PM

I have refrained from getting too much into the critiques lately, as I feel most of the artists asking for critiques are hoping for comments from the Pro's, and you clearly have that here. Great advice from Michele and Sharon.

One area kept bothering me, though, and I find it helpful when someone points out those specific problem areas. The first thing I noticed about this painting was its appeal, it is really a wonderful composition, and I think it is well done. Beside the areas Michelle pointed out, I found the shoulder distracting. It sort of gives her a hunchback look. When comparing it to the photo, you see that the shoulder is not rounded, it actually has a definite angle that makes the anatomy fall into place better.

I sometimes have my oldest daughter come by to critique my paintings. Has she had artistic training? No, but she has a really good eye and often sees problem areas that are oblivious to me. I really wish she had time to learn to paint, she draws very well.

As for changing the style in the middle of the painting, I wondered if you are doing this because you are not comfortable with this more realistic style, or because your brother-in-law prefers the looser style? I really like looser style painting that are done well, but I know my heart is in the realisic catagory.

Please forgive me if I have overstepped my boundaries. I think so much of this Forum and the people in it, and I defer to their much greater judgment and experience.

Sharon Knettell · 03-19-2003, 05:22 PM

Marta,

I am sure that intro was seconded.

It takes a lot of time to do a crit, it is hard to mention everything, and sometimes we do not want to demoralise a member with too long a laundry list.

No overstepping boundaries here, we are all quite humble (restrain laughter), especially when the comments are as well thought out, well-meant and to the point as yours are.

Sincerely,

Sergio Ostroverhy · 03-24-2003, 02:31 PM

Wow!

I am completely subjugated by the beauty of that face. Of course the technical side can still be improved, however what I find really exciting is the emotion which passes through.

I really think that once the emotion is there we should not focus too much on the technical side.