Clancy

Holly Snyder · 05-12-2004, 03:19 PM

Hi,

This is a 16" x 12" of Clancy, the 2-3 yr old son of one of my husband's co-workers. I had brought my camera with me when visiting them at their house. While he did not want me following him around with a camera around my neck, he did like playing dragons. I eventually got this shot of him from a long way across the yard, hot and sweaty from playing but intent on watching his older sister. The paint is thick on the background, and particularly on his hair and shirt, inspired by Ramon Kelley. I had intended to keep the face as loose as everything else, however I ended up refining it too much, so that the splotches of color that were interesting now look a little out of place.

Holly

Leslie Ficcaglia · 05-13-2004, 08:03 AM

Holly, his face is just wonderful; great depth, skin tones, and detail. Against that face the hair seems too loose. If it were my painting I'd render it a little more realistically and then fade off the tighter rendering as I moved away from the hair and face and see whether that worked. You might want a little more realism in his shirt, too, then.

Garth Herrick · 05-14-2004, 02:22 AM

Hey Holly,

Please don't lose too much of the wonderful expressive texture in the hair and the shirt. I love it! I don't know if some of that quality can be successfully integrated into the face as well, without losing the beautiful softness. Maybe if you put the painting away for a few days, the next time you look at it you will know if anything needs to change or be better integrated, or not. I think you are on to something really good and exciting.

Garth

Marvin Mattelson · 05-14-2004, 09:22 AM

I think the transitions between the tightness face and the looseness of the rest are too abrupt. The hair edge should be much softer. This would integrate the two aspects. I love the color and the life you've gotten into it. Here the hotter shadows make sense because they relate to the background colors.

Holly Snyder · 05-15-2004, 10:14 AM

Thanks guys! I wasn't sure if I needed to do something with this or what that would be. I'll try and blend the transition from loose to tight.

Cheers,

Holly

Jean Kelly · 05-17-2004, 12:13 AM

Holly, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I love his face and also think a soft transition from refined to loose in the hair would be an improvement. The refinement in his face makes it the most important part of the portrait, and I like the contrast.

Jean