Acrylic from b/w

Yakov Afanasyev · 05-20-2002, 03:33 PM

I am learning to use underpainting + glazing technique. This is from a small black and white photo. Your comments/suggestions on anything you notice are highly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Yakov

Linda Ciallelo · 05-22-2002, 11:11 PM

The light on her legs is good. In fact the color of her legs I find quite realistic. The blue on her shirt on the lower left side bothers me, and the arm on the right side of the painting seems too short. I would warm up the black a little bit with some umber.

Yakov Afanasyev · 05-23-2002, 09:30 AM

Linda, Thank you very much for your comments. The right arm bothered me too. It is not seen very good on the photo. It must be bent in the elbow and I am not quite sure how to show this. I definitely have to work on the shirt some more too.

Linda Ciallelo · 05-23-2002, 09:03 PM

I just realized that the blue that I thought was the shirt was actually the skirt. Perhaps a slightly darker shadow line where the shirt meets the skirt would keep people, like me, from making that mistake. I thought, at first, that the blue was the shadow on the shirt, but it's a skirt. whew! I hope that's easier to understand than it is to say.

Also I noticed that the edge of the wall behind her is leaning sideways. I'm not sure what that is, but I think it would look better if it were straight up and down. Sometimes in photos things look that way, but if it's straight in real life, it should be straight on your painting.

Karin Wells · 05-23-2002, 10:08 PM

There is a lot that I like about this portrait....mainly the composition and the pose of the model.

However, the skin tone in the shadow areas look "harsh." It could be my monitor....but they really look cold.

BTW, what is the size of this work?

Yakov Afanasyev · 05-25-2002, 03:56 PM

Thanks Karin. The size is 11x18. My idea was to show the bright light which comes from the window behind (and to the right) of the model. This light makes the face more white (a bit blue perhaps) and therefore cooler. It also reduces the contrast. I don't know if this idea is correct. I am also not sure that I was able to realize it to any extent. Here is a zoomed image which is a bit closer to the original in colors and brightness/contrast at least on my monitor.

Linda, the leaning wall is in fact a curtain. I have to do something about it...

Karin Wells · 05-25-2002, 10:27 PM

To be convincing, you need to be aware of the following:

Your shadows should be warm.

Your deepest cast shadows should be warmer than ordinary shadow (even "hot").

Make your halftones cool, but keep the value light. This cool halftone separates your warm light from your warm shadow area.

Always keep your areas of light warm.

And in those areas of light, your highlights can be slightly cooler than the light surrounding it.

Here's another "key to reality painting": Keep your red tones concentrated between the eyebrows and the chin. Avoid the use of red on the neck and forehead.