First critique!

Janet Kimantas · 06-14-2005, 06:00 PM

This is a 10 x 12" oil on canvas of my husband's little boy, Reis. I've included the main reference photo (which doesn't begin to show the amazing luminous skin Reis has) and the eyes that I used to help un-squint the painted eyes. Two things I'm questioning: the background and his eyes. I've worked on the eyes to make them less spacey looking, but my problem is that Reis really does look dreamy quite often. What I really want is the snappy, dazzling look that he's also very capable of. Hints, suggestions, all welcome. Thanks is advance.

Linda Brandon · 06-14-2005, 07:24 PM

Hi, Janet! The first thing I noticed about your painting is how nicely you've done the hair - few sharp edges, lots of subtle transitions, nicely done, especially on the lit side.

My chief advice to you is to not work with any reference photo that is not perfect. Perfect. Realism painting is hard enough without having to make things up. Try to get this boy in an outdoor lighting situation where his eyes aren't squinting from the sun; if you look at the Forum section on outdoor photography you'll see lots of tips. Personally I favor filtering bright sun with a sheer curtain to reduce the lit/non-lit ratio. Bright sun will wash out all the delicate flesh tones.

Your eye reference photo just is not lit well enough to help you with your painting. You need to try to light the eye to make it sparkle. An eye is moist, especially in children, and you need to set up the lighting to capture the moistness (think: peeled grape). You also have the whites of the eyes far too bright in your painting, they are usually just a cooler version of flesh tone. What colors are on your palette, by the way?

I hope I haven't upset you with all this. I'm a bad Critique Moderator because I usually just tell people to take another photo, or go and work from life for a while. I think you are a fresh, loose painter and would be perfectly suited for painting children outdoors.

Michele Rushworth · 06-14-2005, 08:34 PM

I agree with everything Linda said (as usual!) and in particular, this part:

Quote:

My chief advice to you is to not work with any reference photo that is not perfect.

If the eyes in the reference aren't the way you want them, don't paint from this photo.

Photographing people outdoors is easiest if they are backlighted (be sure to spot meter off the face with your camera) or in shade. Full sun is the toughest light for photographing people and I would recommend against doing it. Look at some professional photographers' sites -- there will be hardly and outdoor shots with full sun on the face.

Michele Rushworth · 06-14-2005, 08:35 PM

Look at this site for great outdoor children's portrait paintings:

www.hongminzou.com

John Crowther · 06-14-2005, 08:54 PM

Very nice work. While agreeing totally wih what Linda and Michelle have said, I'm also an advocate of the "Photoshop save." One of the things to keep in mind with photos is that there's more information in the darks than we realize. In this case the whites of the eyes can be brightened enough and cooled in tone to work for you as reference. And a touch of white reflection in the pupils will give the needed sparkle. For me the slight squint in the bright sun is very much a part of the boy's humorously mischevious look and can make for a compelling and non-traditional portrait.

John C.

Janet Kimantas · 06-15-2005, 12:47 PM

John,

Thanks for your comments. I think you are absolutely right about the eyes, I should have painted them squint and all and it would have made for a better likeness and a better painting. As for the "Photoshop save" are you suggesting tweaking the shot until it looks like what you want to paint? That sounds interesting.

Janet

Janet Kimantas · 06-15-2005, 01:15 PM

Michele and Linda,

I really appreciate your tips and your honesty. It was exactly what I had hoped for. I'm not upset in the least, Linda, in fact delighted. You could have said "nice photo, shame about the painting"!

I took a quick look at that website and will revisit it again. I'll also have to go into the forum archives on this whole photography topic - it seems to be much more complicated than I had thought (hoped!). I've art directed dozens of photo shoots of children over the years and have found it to be a challenge. Some kids are naturals and some have about 10 good minutes in them. My stock response to all the anxious frowns around me is a muttered "I'll just Photoshop it out".

I'm actually going to post a photo I am thinking about painting from for critique. I'd be most grateful if you ladies (and John, too) would be able to spare a moment or two to take a look and let me know what you think.

Thanks again, Janet

John Crowther · 06-15-2005, 09:51 PM

Exactly, Janet, tweaking is one of the ways I use Photoshop, either playing wih color and value of the whole image, or isolating areas I think can be profitably changed. Many artists, including myself, also use it to move elements around, combine sections of various photos, and eliminate aspects of a photo such as background. It's always a good idea to work with layers. I believe these techniques have been discussed here previously -- perhaps someone can point you to the right place in the archives.

John C.

Janet Kimantas · 06-16-2005, 05:53 PM

Hi John,

Thanks for the tip. I'll go through the past threads on photo editing. I do a lot of that kind of stuff at work - dental surgery, eye work, head transplants etc. The technical end won't be a problem, but I'm sure that one has to keep oneself in check a fair bit. I know that I could easily over-work a photo when taking a better one would be the best answer. In the meantime, I may redo the eyes on this little guy in line with your advice. No harm done and I might learn something.

Janet