Portrait of a little girl

Eileen Claire · 08-24-2007, 05:30 PM

I have been working from life and I hope that you can see the results of that practice in my latest painting.

Any suggestions you can give for improvement for future paintings would be most appreciated. Thank you!

Chris Saper · 08-24-2007, 08:55 PM

Yes, I can!

Eileen, I can also see that there is a lot of distortion in your image, and if you email me your jpeg, i'll see if I can tweak it for you.

Eileen Claire · 08-26-2007, 10:48 AM

Thanks to Chris's help, this is a somewhat better representation of the painting. Meanwhile, I will be studying up on how to properly photograph a painting.

I look forward to your suggestions. Thank you.

Thomasin Dewhurst · 08-26-2007, 11:24 AM

I like this very much, Eileen. You are using your paintbrush as a drawing tool, which is lovely. You have had a very sensitive and focussed approach to this painting, and you have a wonderful feeling for the forms of the face.

I think the only thing that could be improved is the definition of the underside of the chin, and only very slightly. With the unfinished part at the lower half of the painting (which is great in itself, and compliments the more finished face very well) the chin could do with a slight line or shadow that separates the face from the rest of the image; a kind of anchor that keeps your eye from falling down to the lower half of the painting.

It could also be the blurriness of the photo that is making me see less definition in the chin. With a normal snapshot camera and no special lighting equipment, the best way to photograph a painting is in the shade of a wall on a cloudless sunny day. The sun must be fully shining (overcast weather doesn't have the same lighting effects) and the shade should come from the side as you will need the light from sky itself, directly above you (although not the direct sunlight as this would cause glare and bleaching of the colours), to bring out the colours and brushstrokes excellently.

Eileen Claire · 08-27-2007, 08:57 PM

Thank you for your comments, Thomasin. Unfortunately I am not a very good photographer, but I am determined to become a better one. So I really appreciate your tip as to how to get a better photo.

I also appreciate your assessment of the painting. Thank you so much for taking the time to look and respond.