Alice and Randy

Terri Ficenec · 04-07-2004, 10:54 AM

This is getting close I think. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the week. Today, I am planning on:

- pulling some reflected blues into his suit to integrate their figures.
- lightening the really dark shadow on her face just a bit.
- putting a little more color back into her lips and cheeks....
(that got washed out yesterday when I was corrected some of her features.)

So... have at it, please let me know if there's anything I'm overlooking!
Thanks!

Chuck Yokota · 04-07-2004, 12:12 PM

Hi Terri,
I don't have anything to add about the faces; they should be pleased with their likeness.
On the overall painting, one thing that bothers me is the man's suit sleeve. The it seems to draw much more attention than the sleeve in the reference, pulling attention away from the faces. Once my attention is drawn to it, the way the folds are modelled makes it look like much thicker material than the suit appears at the lapel and wrist.

Terri Ficenec · 04-07-2004, 03:25 PM

Hi Chuck - Thanks! Well you've managed to zoom in on the fudged part of the painting

... (That arm was repositioned in Paint Shop Pro in the reference photo to move the hands closer to the faces. The disappearing arm in the reference was how I hid adjustment... ) The apparent thickness of the fabric is not something I 'd noticed, but I agree... especially at the elbow and on the lower arm. I'll have to play with it a little more and see if I can't get it to read more believably. ...maybe reduce the value on the lower part of the arm and soften the top/front edge of the sleeve.

Thanks again!

Terri Ficenec · 04-07-2004, 05:47 PM

Well... here's where it is now...
I've made the changes mentioned above and tried to address the concerns about the arm/sleeve that Chuck mentioned, pushing it back into the 'dark side'.

By the way, this is 30"x24", oil on canvas.

Leslie Ficcaglia · 04-07-2004, 08:34 PM

Terri, very nice job and you've certainly got the likenesses down well. My only suggestion would be to push your darkest darks and your lightest lights a little more; right now the tonal quality isn't varied enough so it looks a little flat. There's much more contrast in your reference photo, and particularly her hair and features, and his eyes, are darker there. This one was quite a challenge, wasn't it!

Terri Ficenec · 04-07-2004, 09:08 PM

Hi Leslie! Thanks for the feedback.

I think what you may be seeing is a combination of glare and sunken in colors. I guess I was a little overeager to post the adjusted coloring on her face and posted these updated images even though I wasn't able to get a good clear shot of it.

I'll try to post a better image of the painting in the morning when the light in my studio seems to be better for photographing and hopefully the paint won't be quite so shiny.