My Teddy

Carol Norton · 09-08-2004, 10:09 AM

After a steep learning curve, much help from the Mac sector, maybe, just maybe, this picture will post. If it does, I welcome and value any and all critiques.
Thanks to the whole cheering squad who tutored me in this process.

Leslie Ficcaglia · 09-08-2004, 10:10 PM

Hooray, Carol - you got it posted! Nice painting; I really like your use of light and shade in the background and in his shirt. The hair is beautifully rendered, too. I think you need more tonal variety in his skin, though, especially in the legs although the face and arm could use some too, as could the hand on our right. And although I'm sure that that's what it really looks like because his other hand is pushing up his cheek, that eye on our left is too small. Even if it means being less true to your reference I'd make it the same size, or almost the same, as the eye on our right. It's not only narrower top to bottom, but also smaller in width, which doesn't feel right.

What size is this and is it a commission? Very appealing concept.

Glad to be able to see your work!

Jane Bradley · 09-09-2004, 12:42 AM

Carol,

I really like the design of this - and I love the attitude you have so very successfully conveyed. Very nice!!

Garth Herrick · 09-09-2004, 02:25 AM

Hi Carol,

I really like this a lot. I like the concept and the attitude and I really like the Manet-like painterliness and your use of color.

One thing that bothers me on first impression is that the boy and the Teddy seem to be floating a little. I don't fully sense their weight upon the seat cushion. Seeing how you have carefully rendered the shadows makes me question my own first impression, and I am trying to figure out what the phenomenon is behind my impression.

I think there may be several factors contributing at once. One has to do with the way the color turns so consistently blue in the shadow, and I sense you are deliberately striving for this color effect. Another factor is that the orange trousers and yellow shirt maintain full intensity right to the blue shadow edge, making what is probably an unnatural color transition, since there is no hint of warmth reflected in the shadow where the orange meets the blue. A third is that the rendering of the shadow itself suggests the boy is floating an inch above the cushion surface; perhaps there are more subtleties in your reference image as to how the intersecting shadow turns and breaks in the light.

Tweaking any one of these possible factors will probably resolve this floating issue.

I hope this helps. Again, welcome, and I look forward to seeing more of your works.

Garth

Linda Brandon · 09-09-2004, 10:50 AM

Hi Carol, glad you finally made it on the Forum!

I think that you have a strong, individual painting style and a bold color sense. If you don't get too many comments on this painting I suspect that it may be because many of us on the Forum are striving for photographic realism, classical realism, or Sargentesque bravura painterly realism. (Have I forgotten any 'isms? here?) It is sometimes hard to cross over into another style when it comes to articulating thoughts about a painting. You lean toward Impressionism here and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Remember that the Critiques section is for nitpicking - lots of opinionated artists out here - and the Unveilings sections is for when you just want to display.

I like this pose but I agree with Garth that he appears to be floating in his surroundings. I would also like that bear to be squishier with more of a feeling of relaxed droopiness.

Carol Norton · 09-09-2004, 04:14 PM

Thank you Garth, Jane, Leslie and Linda for taking the time to critique. ALL of the observations will be of help with this painting. I have tried to include the photo reference from which I painted and if it doesn't show up,I'll keep working on that part of posting. I selected that particular shot to paint because it really, REALLY expresses a darling little boy WITH a whole lot of "attitude". I also tried to make his painting look a little "sweeter" than the foto (as it will go in his room...maybe..if I give it to him) but perhaps the "sweetening" undermines the original. I posted the source so that you could see his eyes. From viewing the photo, Leslie, would you still enlarge the eye beside the hand? I will experiment with that and see of it comes across better.

Garth, you are so right about the shadow. The fact is that I don't know how to do it differently. Would you follow the contour of the shirt and shorts, mix some yellow reflected into the shadow beside the shirt and orange into the shadow color beside the shorts? My photo was a candid shot so that is what I had to work with. I also obviously added the hand. I will work further on the shirt color turning into the shadow, too.

Linda, I swear I didn't mean to create an impressionistic "impression". I, too, work toward realism. Chris's class was my first portrait class and Bill's my second. What I had tried to do here was to create lost edges in the chair. Perhaps the color choice should be changed to a more neutral brown. That wouldn't be hard. ALSO, I so appreciate the nitpicking part in the Critiques secton as that is the only way I will learn how to correct my errors. I don't have a reason yet to use the Unveiling section at this stage. Getting all of this help from such experts is the greatest of all gifts. No ego has been EARNED yet, so it can hardly get discouraged by helpful comments. My whole goal - and I am a serious and focused learner - is to paint beautiful, realistic, portraits that appear to be candid - not formal - capturing a "moment in time". Is this the right place to post a painting of this nature? Should I be doing this in WetCanvas instead? I DO love Sergent but ALSO love Sergei Bongart. OH, and I do love the idea of squishing the bear a bit. Would you do that by making him furrier?

Chris Saper · 09-10-2004, 07:23 PM

Dear Carol,

I know that your next post will include a SUPERB photo reference! Notwithstanding the source photo commments I had just a few thoughts expanding on Garth's comments a little.

Yes, there will always be some reflected color - in both directions. The strength of the reflected color depends on many factors, - local color/ saturation; type of light; direction and strength of light, and texture of each surface. Sharing color is a very important tool in integrating the subject with the background.

Your painting has a Matisse-like feel to it, and the flatness is underscored by the figure's silhouette edges, which have uniformity. I think the areas where the color saturation is as strong along the shadow edges as on the top parts of the form also contributes to this feel. I see your sharpest edge as being the boy's right elbow against the chair, where the seam in the Teddy Bear's nose is quite strongly contrasted as well. Fortunately edges are easy to adjust (usually) when needed.

Compositionally, your decision to include the hand on our right to "stop" the eye was a sound one. I also think you have made a strong and thoughtful decision about a classic complementary color harmony!

See you soon,

Carol Norton · 09-10-2004, 07:48 PM

Oh, boy, Chris, I'll use that litle trick on the elbow that Bill did on one of the heads in our workshop and soften the edges of that elbow. The elbow is NOT where I want the focus to be. Gosh this is a wonderful place to learn. OK, color sharing and elbow softening will be my next effort.
Thanks as always.