Annie

Jean Kelly · 06-30-2003, 08:53 PM

Hi all,

This is my latest. I've done a lot on her face at this point. Annie will be coming over Wed afternoon for a session to work on her hands, arms and top. I don't have enough information there, plus it will be good to check progress on her face. The client would like a climbing rose bush at her left side (behind her), pink flowers on a trellis. It
would be lovely, but I know from past discussions that it would need to be faint, painterly, and soft enough to recede amd not detract from the main subject.

Please watch over my shoulder as I try to "keep the background in the background".

Jean

Jean Kelly · 06-30-2003, 08:56 PM

There are some funny lines in the picture, please disregard.
I'm not sure if I like the greenish reflection, what do you think?

Jean

Jean Kelly · 07-07-2003, 11:35 PM

Jean isn't.

My husband and I went to a large music festival called Summerfest for two days last week. I spent too much time on my feet, too hot and humid, too many people, and fireworks (my nemisis). The worst part is that my camera was stolen! So I'm going to hang out in the camera forum for a while, need to find a replacement digital for under $400.

Now for the best part, we had 5th row center seats for Willie Nelson and The Dead, and I got to wear Willie's hat! I also got some great shots of a steel drum band with a wonderful dancer, she was amazing and obviously loved what she was doing. Muscles, tendons, energy and grace, plus she was a ham and did some posing for me!

I'll post an update on Annie when my camera situation is solved.

Jean

Enzie Shahmiri · 07-08-2003, 11:28 AM

Hi Jean,

I am sorry to hear that your camera was stolen and hope you will find a suitable replacement soon.

Regarding your painting the first thing that I noticed was her neck. The sternocleidomastoid (neck muscle) is not in the right place. I suggest thanding in front of a mirror and moving you hands over your neck as you stretch your neck and move your head from side to side or check out this site http://www.portrait-artist.org/misc/neck-shoulders.html

Those muscles form a V shape and meet in the pit, where the clavicle bones meet.

I would also double check her right eye, it seems smaller. I thinks you did a great job with her eye lids. I once did a painting of a little girl who is half German and half Chinese and had a heck of a time getting the eye lids right.

Jean Kelly · 07-08-2003, 12:58 PM

Hi Enzie,

Thanks for the site reference, I've bookmarked it for future use. Annie's deformed neck, arms and hand were repaired after she came for her session last week. The climbing rose and trellis have been added and are very faint. Hopefully I've accomplished my goal. The hardest part of this portrait was her skin color. Annie is from the Phillipines, the photo was from her mother, and was not bad. But after meeting her it was obvious that her skin was not that dark with less red tones (more of a bronze, with gold highlights). Oh, her eye has been repaired too. I miss my camera, I need to start selling so I can get a new one.

Thanks Enzie,

Jean

Jean Kelly · 07-11-2003, 12:30 PM

Hi,

Annie's almost done. I borrowed a camera for these photos, they came out on the blue side. and seem to have some distortion, but you can get an idea at least of how it's progressed. Her head looks too large to me in the photo, but not in reality. I hope you can make some sense of this.

Jean

Jean Kelly · 07-11-2003, 12:32 PM

A closer shot of her face.

Jean Kelly · 07-11-2003, 01:11 PM

Here's the ref photo that I took last Wednesday (before my camera was stolen).

Jean

Enzie Shahmiri · 07-12-2003, 10:44 AM

Hi Jean,

It's getting there but the neck area is still wrong. I suggest you draw a cylinder on a piece of paper. Have the left side be in shadow and make the form gradually get lighter. Study the subtle value changes with this exercise.

The neck is a cylindrical form and has roundness to it. When I look at the neck you have painted it looks deflated and that is because you are overwoking every detail in the neck. The rise and fall of the muscles has to be more subtle so you won't get that sunk in look.

The angle of her 2nd finger is off as well, because the tip's angle does not coincide with the angle of the rest of the finder. If the tip points inwards then the nuckle has to come forward towards the viewer. Sort of what the 3rd finger does.

Hang in there, you know "Natasha" my dancer has been hanging in my room and I just now noticed that one of her breast has the wrong angle. So she has to be refixed as well. Once you notice a major error it comes back to haunt you everytime you see it. I don't know why as a painter your eye stops seeing that which is so obvious to just about everyone else and why on earth it takes so long for the artist to recognize the error.

Jean Kelly · 07-13-2003, 03:39 PM

Hi all,

Thank you Enzie, for your encouragement and comments. I've spent some time measuring and double checking everything and have decided to scrap this completely and am starting over. I tried to combine three different references, and it did not work. I've sanded it down and am starting over today.

Tim started a thread on beauty and zen, the portrait posted there by Bouguereau reminded me to strive for the best possible and if something looks wrong it probably is. So I start over, excited again. I've come to the conclusion that I will not do a portrait based on a picture and must meet my subject in person. Annie is not the person I painted, plus all the proportional problems. I created a "munchkin".

Jean