Include hands or not?

[Raffaele Di Fiore]

Hello to all,
This is my first post here. I have read a great deal of the threads and viewed much of the work presented at this site. Quite impressive. To Cynthia I must say, that this is one of the best websites I

[Anne Hall]

Your question combines artistic, technical and emotional factors. In his 1999 book Sight & Insight, Burton Silverman includes a painting of his mother he did from a drawing of her in her final days. One of the nicest aspects of this book is the way his thoughtful observations are laid out side by side with the paintings. He tells how he came to draw and then paint his mother in this extreme state and what it meant to him. (Both drawing and painting appear). You might want to look this book up and see how Silverman handled the evident facts of his mother's decline both lovingly and beautifully.

One of my friends is an Episcopal priest who does a wonderful job with helping families address the fact that their loved one is going to die (as are we all) by simple acts such as foot washing, talking about and honoring a life well spent. But many people prefer to avoid an open discussion. You may do the family a valuable service by opening the topic you raised, but only you can judge if they would be receptive.

[Raffaele Di Fiore]

Thanks for replying, though I think you may have misread my intention and what I was asking of the forum members. I am truly only looking for opinions from other portrait artists as to whether or not they favour including hands in portraits (implying torso as well) and their reasons for so. Does it present more of a unified whole as opposed to a head/shoulders image which may be more related to a study of sorts?

Does extending the view of the subject tell one more about the sitter?

For that matter what constitutes good portraiture? (Apart from likeness of the subject of course) I would be interested in others opinions here.

I am not a portrait painter per se. My art focuses on interpretation of historical events, biblical events, genre, even romanticizing at times. I try to bring the viewer in as though he/she were there as an observer, if even for a brief moment.

There is no emotional factor here. I have been asked to do a portrait, I have agreed. I personally do not know the sitter. It will be presented as a token of my family

[Linda Brandon]

Dear Raffaele,

First of all, congratulations on executing such a fine sketch!

I personally don't like to paint a head & shoulders over 16" x 20" or thereabouts - if you've decided on a 20" x 24" painting I think you ought to include hands as well, unless you're planning to paint a vignette. Hands can say a great deal about a subject and I love using them in an expressive manner whenever possible.

Here are a few ideas off the top of my head: does she read? - she can hold a book. Does she knit? - let her hold her needles with the knitted item being worked on (interesting color possibilities there). If she has a wonderful necklace she can touch it in a graceful manner. Does she have a cat she can hold in her lap? You can always ask her if she has a special object she'd like to hold.

If you're concerned that she can't hold a pose for long and you want to work completely from life, consider having her support her head with a hand, possibly on a table (but take care not to make her look unflatteringly weary or tired of life).

Of course all of these options make for a lot more work for the artist, and some artists simply don't like to paint hands. I'm convinced Whistler was one of these - take a look at a collection of his portrait work - hands are behind the back, in pockets, or treated in a VERY painterly manner.

I am a big fan of gloves and all their wonderful compositional possiblities such as one glove on, one off, held in the hands, etc. etc. but so far I've been unable to convince a client to wear them (maybe this is because I live in Arizona! You may have more luck in Ireland).

Possibly you're concerned about painting an older woman's hands. As you probably know, most women are quite vain about their hands and the aging process isn't kind to them. Remember that the hand viewed from the side is generally more flattering than the full-knuckle view, and a hand bent at the wrist is more "feminine" than one which is not.

As for "formality" in a portrait, I think you could safely generalize that an indoor pose is more formal than an outdoor one and a formally attired sitter is more formal (obviously) than an informally attired sitter. To me, a dark background feels more formal than a light one.

Best regards,
Linda

[Karin Wells]

I always try to include as much "body language" of the sitter as I can. Hands are so expressive, especially as we age. Including hands in a portrait also gives you more latitude in your composition. Also, I can't imagine that rendering hands would ever detract from a face.

If the poor woman gets tired easily, why not bring your camera and capture her "in an instant." With a camera, you'll be better able to see and grab that "wee grin" and the twinkle in her eye. These things are verrrry subtle and tend to evaporate when we ask someone ill to "sit still" for a sketch - no matter how quickly we draw.

I suggest that because of her condition, you practice with the camera, set up your lighting, chair, props, etc. long before she enters the scene. When she does appear, place her exactly as you want her, be cheerful and shoot quickly.

I am suggesting that you use a camera for photo reference in addition to your sketches. I am NOT saying that you should copy a photo.

[Peggy Baumgaertner]

Raffaele,

There are certain classic portrait conventions (not painting bigger than life, placement of the subject in the canvas, not lopping off fingers by painting them out of the frame, etc.), but absolutely nothing that says a head and shoulders is the lesser cousin to a 3/4 portrait. Ormond's John Singer Sargent, the Early Portraits is filled with exquisite, moving, and defiantly classic portraits, and they are for the most part head and shoulders portraits.

A head and shoulders portrait will place a greater emphasis on the features of the sitter, their expression and thoughts. The subtle lift of an eyebrow, down cast eyes or the flicker of amusement animates and explains who this person is. In a 3/4 portrait, you can work with body language, props and atmosphere to create that recognition.

(If limited to a 24" x 20" canvas, I personally would do the head and shoulders).

Peggy

[Anne Hall]

I am certainly embarrassed to have misunderstood the question, Raffaele. But, I still think you might get some value from looking at the way Burton Silverman composed his painting of his mother.