Couple's portrait

[Sophie Ploeg]

Hello,

This is a portrait of a young couple who will get married soon. The building in the background is the location of the wedding. I've had some troubles with the likeness of her especially.

I know I have changed the angle of her slightly, but hope that despite this, the likeness is still there. I would really appreciate any and all comments. Can I improve before I call this finished? The client has not seen it yet (and I hope they have never heard of this Forum )

Thank you so much.
Sophie

[Sophie Ploeg]

This is the ref pic....

[Sophie Ploeg]

Detail. (Is there no way to post several images in one post....anyway I'll stop now )

[Chris Saper]

Dear Sophie,

Congratulations on an excellent start to a very complicated painting!

Here are several thoughts on the portrait you have posted, with regard to drawing and composition.

Drawing. First of all, let me say that you are really close on her. It's hardest to identify problems when they may comprise differences as little as 1/8 " or even less. Her nose is too long and too far to our left. As you have observed, her features are starting to "level out", right below the eyebrows, and by the time you get to the chin, the "level" is actually starting to descend toward our right. Yet the rest of the head is more closely aligned with the angles in the photo, so my recommendation would be to first make all the angles of the features agree. This may also be the reason the her ear and jaw are vertically compressed. I view ears as features equally important to a person's likeness as eyes or the mouth, so I'd recommend spending a little more time with the shape of the ear, and recheck its placement when you revise the angles of the features.

Check, also, the shape of the hair, in particular the volume of hair at the back of her head (you have too much) and the shape of the hairline between the brow and the ear. You will convey a greater sense of dimension if you deepen the value of her hair where it is swept back above her ear.

With regard to the groom, begin by rechecking the length vs. width of his head: the head is too wide compared to its length. The extra width is mainly contained on the side of his face to our left. It's a variation of the leveling out happening in her face: as you move down the head, the features are migrating toward the center. Even so, double check the length as well as the shape of his nose.

Composition. I like the placement of the couple, giving breathing room to their gaze as well as to the direction of the light. The building in the background is problematic, for several reasons, but mainly because it becomes a static center of interest. This occurs for several reasons: first, the top of the tower is pretty much in the center of the page; the top of the third tier forms a tangent with the roofline of the building; the dark outline of the "steps" in the brick creates a sharp edge with lots of contrast. When you include architectural elements, the perspective has to really be on the money, or the image will read as flat and cut/pasted on the surface. The trees seem to be perhaps an afterthought? If you start by softening the edges of the building (including steps, bricks, etc.), you can help the church stay in the background. For a building to be that size, compared to the couple, it would be very far back, and you would not be able to see every brick. If you have flexibility as to size, you might consider cropping the sky out altogether, just below the top of the third tier.

A closing note: You may want to find a couple of spots to call attention back to the couple; right now the man's collar is a real attention getter, (could be softened quite easily) , and does function to catch the eye and send it to your focal point.

Good luck with this painting, it will surely be something they will cherish over the years.

[Sophie Ploeg]

Gosh! What a load of suggestions - thanks soo much! I really appreciate the time you took to look and write.

The trees: yes, they were an afterthought. I liked the stark outline of the building and the geometric character it provided before, but feared the couple/clients might find it a bit too stylized and modern. So I looked for ways to 'soften' the outlines and found there are quite some trees on the actual scene. Tried to make them harmonize with the rest of the painting by using blues and purples.

The outline of the steps is an excellent point - I will certainly soften that! It is not a church though and really not that big. Only the ground floor and then the gable/roofline starts. I did find it difficult to get some depth in the painting, as the couple, building and trees seem too much 'cut and pasted' over one another. Since the building is from a straight angle, I suppose I have to rely on colour perspective here....??

I've got every flexibility to size, so could easily crop, but am not sure, it would darken the painting dramatically. I struggled with that, as I wanted the painting to be bright and sunny, but not too harsh in contrasts. If I lighten the building, the couple fades away, and if I darken it (and make the couple 'pop' more) the painting gets too dark. Need to find a good balance...

I will read and analyze your comments on the features of the couple carefully and thank you very much, because that has been frustrating!!

Boy, I hope they are gonna like it!

Thanks again for all your help!

Sophie

[Michele Rushworth]

I took the liberty (I hope you don't mind) of trying out some of the suggestions Chris made. To my mind this composition brings the focus back to the couple and keeps the building very much in the background.

(Just FYI, in Photoshop I lightened and reduced the contrast on the building, and blurred it slightly, and of course, cropped it.)

[Sophie Ploeg]

Thanks Michele. Of course I don't mind - I appreciate it a lot! I've had a few more suggestions of cropping it now, and I must admit, I am starting to get used to the idea. I always find it difficult to crop off part of the painting I initially planned. I quite like the larger composition, as modern and a change from the traditional central composition, but I can see that the clients/the couple would appreciate the central composition better. It is hard to let go though and I might ask their preference....Your cropped suggestion is very good and I am tempted to go with it.

Thanks again. I really appreciate your help.

Sophie

[Sophie Ploeg]

Hi all,
Just to let you know that this is how it turned out. I can still see loads of errors, but time is up and I am going to have to leave it at this. This is the final crop I chose.
Thanks for all your help!