Girl next door

April Phillips · 12-10-2006, 11:24 PM

Another one day wonder painting, this one of the little 18 month old next door. Used a subtractive wipe-out method on 14"x18" canvas. I was thinking the time limit (about 5 hours) would force me to work looser and looser, but in fact I seem to be going tighter. My thought now is that at this stage of learning, perhaps I should be focusing on accuracy and looseness will come later. Sounds like a good cafe discussion topic.

Love to hear critiques even though it's too late to make changes.

Alexandra Tyng · 12-12-2006, 10:19 AM

April,

Sorry, I missed seeing this. It appeals to me because it strikes me as not just a copy of a photo. It has that "something more" quality that makes it a work of art. I can't quite pinpoint how that is--but it as to do with the light, the artist's imprint and interpretation and feeling.

There is an issue with accuracy: you've stretched out the hoizontal dimension of the upper face, thus making the eyes larger and the face wider from temple to temple. It's funny, though, I think this enhances the power of your personal statement. I wouldn't make a case in favor of distortion in general, but in this case it is compelling.

As far as looseness, I do agree that comes naturally. If it is a goal, don't force it, just keep it in mind. Plus, "looseness" in general is not as valuable as that particular quality you have that makes your art unique.

April Phillips · 12-12-2006, 02:04 PM

Thanks Alexandra,

Excellent feedback that I will keep with me.

Chris Saper · 02-06-2007, 06:30 PM

Dear April,

I have to agree with you - accuracy counts. Your style and technique ( BTW I feel your pain, as I wish I could paint more loosely, too) will just emerge and become more distinctive over time. There are several components to accuracy, and drawing is key. Check the size and placement of the eyes and the relative width of the nose. I would also look at the overall shape of the head, and how the hair sits on it.

Your reference photo has beautiful lighting - 18 months is a very difficult age to photograph. You made a good decision not to paint his right arm heading out of the frame. The square-on shoulders and face present a design problem that is virtually impossible (at least for me) to solve. Still, those 18 month-olds, they just won't follow instructions

You've done a nice job keeping your edges soft, which sets you up to make just one or two shar edges and really gain visual impact.

I think that your painting would benefit from some light values - the uniformity of the middle values tends to reduce the sense of form. I am not sure what your experience with the wipe-out method is, but once the paint sets up to a certain point, it's impossible to get back to the lights - perhaps that worked against your establishing a larger range of values. Th value in the whites of the the shadowed eye are a bit too light and make that eye a bit flat .As far as the distribution of values, the upper right and lower left areas are quite similar in shape and size, so more variety might give a sense of movement to the piece.

Is this the full painting? If so, the head would be much larger than life size, something which can make it harder to see drawing distortion.

I think that you are lucky to have this little model next door- you defintiely have the lighting inhand!

Good luck, hope this helps.

April Phillips · 02-09-2007, 03:11 AM

Thanks Chris,

That does help. Once you've pointed these things out, I'm not sure how I missed them. I'm in a drawing class now that has given me a new way to measure and my accuracy is improving. Just have to get faster at it. I keep hearing over and over again that I need to work on form. I think It's finally starting to sink in for me.

As far as the lighting goes, I found that setting up a chair a couple of feet inside my (open) garage, perpendicular to the door, is working well. A small window to the left of the model gives just a slight light edge to the shadow side.

Cindy Procious · 02-09-2007, 08:26 AM

She's precious, April. I agree with Chris - really nice photo reference.

I think your underpainting would benefit from being in a high key like your photo. It seems a little dark.

Why is it too late to change it?

April Phillips · 02-13-2007, 08:30 AM

Thanks Cindy for your comments,

This isn't an underpainting but is the final piece. It was done using the wipe out method, a subtractive technique, so once the paint is dry, I'm done. This technique is frustrating for that reason and I am currently practicing different techniques in color, but still get requests for the monochromes. It's good practice I figure.