Last-minute model

[Rob Sullivan]

This is from another portrait painting class I taught at NHIA late this past summer. No models were available, and the director of Continuing Ed and I ran around the campus looking for someone... anyone! We found this lovely 15 year-old intern named Steph. Her olive-complected skin really warmed up under incandescent light. I liked adding the beauty mark.

This is 16" x 12", oil on canvas paper. Yeah, I said canvas paper. I just don't have the $$$ to burn on materials for when I teach. I never know how much I'll get to paint, so I don't want to waste a good NewTraditions panel or stretched linen. Sometimes the students need more help than other times, so I really never know. I was lucky to get this in 2 hours (probably less). I will admit to touching up the eyes when I got home - just to get them a little more crisp.

*edit*

Perhaps I should have posted this in "Member Portraits from Life," but I wasn't paying attention. Now that it's here, I don't mind any critiques at all! My job is to give them, so I have fallen way behind in receiving any. Remember that I was an illustrator, so I can take anything

[Chris Saper]

Rob,

What a wonderful job! Lovely color harmony, sensitive edges. This must have been so much fun to watch!

[Claudemir Bonfim]

Very nice,
You can accomplish very much in a short time.
Congrats.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Rob,

My, you really did an impressive job in a short time! And you make it look effortless. I always feel funny critiquing open studio work because it is an exercise that is meant to be completed within a certain time period. Plus I can't think of anything to criticize!

Alex

[Chris Saper]

I agree.

It doesn't make any sense to critique open studio work. That we do open studio work is of major importance, yet only to the artist. Practicing from life is unsurpassable. I also love that by posting here, we sort of lay open what happens to our work in a limited and exposed venue. This has nothing at all to do with finished work.

[Rob Sullivan]

Very well said, Chris! And it's made that much more valid, as you are one of the most masterful direct painters I know.

But, I should mention that if you, Alexandra, or Claudemir - who said some very nice things about this one - had gone on to say something like, "..Watch that hard edge on the lip," or, "..Perhaps next time, shift over a little to avoid a tangential edge between nose and cheek profile," I would have agreed wholeheartedly. I think, if one is to critique - or more accurately - "Monday morning quarterback" an open studio piece, it relates more to what one can do in the next painting to firm up one's approach.

Some of you probably know my disdain for tangential lines or edges. Just so I don't look like a hypocrite here: When I ended up correcting some drawing/likeness issues in latter stages of the painting, I ended up with a rather snug edge between her nose and right cheek. I pulled out all the edge trickery I could to get rid of any weirdness. Note the cool reflected light on the cheek vs. the sharpened warm edge plane of the nose. The edge plane of the cheek is so soft, it's almost part of her hair. It works, but it should have been avoided. I painted myself into this situation because that section of the intitial lay-in was not clear enough to see that future problems lay ahead.

So, then... next time's a charm!!!

[Alexandra Tyng]

As you said, Rob, it is all about the next painting.

But isn't the awkwardness its own best teaching tool? Sometimes in an open studio, you get stuck in a certain place and you make the best of it. Just reading your description of what you went through to deal with the problem of the tangential edges of nose and cheek is the kind of challenging learning experience we go through that teaches us (or reminds us) exactly why we don't want to do that in a set-up over which we have more control. This kind of studio work is more spontaneous and has its limitations, and that's the beauty of it.

Alex

[Rob Sullivan]

Sometimes in an open studio, you get stuck in a certain place and you make the best of it.

I see this kind of thing far too often with my students. Especially if it's a big class. There's no good reason for this unless you're late, in which case I beat the student with a mahl stick and take away all their brushes except for a 4" house painting brush. <----[joking!]

Seriously, the model is supposed to be still, but you are allowed to move. It's important to exercise this freedom. I'd rather see someone spending 10 minutes on composition than launching into something - then half an hour later, they realize they're in a bad spot. Time spent correcting can be avoided by taking time initially. Waaaay back in my student days at SVA, I would elbow my way in towards the model stand, it was so tight. It ticked some people off, but I was there to paint the model, not the back of a classmate's head!

This is not to say that moving around will solve all your problems, but it solves some them. I knew a winemaker who used to say, "I'm shooting for evolution, not revolution." I think that's apropos of painting, too.

[Linda Brandon]

Hi there Rob, I like this one very much, really a fine job in a short time period. Nice color too, what's on your palette these days, anyway?

I know what you're all talking about when you're discussing being stuck in a painting position. I have to say that the reason I hate the nose-touching-the-cheek position is because I always have trouble with the far eye when I get it. Always! It's worth taking a step to the left or right even to nudge it one way or the other even a little bit.

[Patricia Joyce]

Hi Rob,
This is really nice. I love the job you did on her hair, it looks very rich and very thick. And rendering hair is always amazing feat to me. I, too, am not a fan of this "position" but I always figure wherever I "land" is where I am supposed to be, to learn something . . .

She looks so young and sweet in your paiting. A nice feeling you achieved.