Eward, Alistair and William

Pamela Scherf · 01-09-2006, 01:09 AM

This is an oil on canvas painting 67 cm x 78.5 cm, for a commission. The client liked the photos we did when a fog was just lifting. I actually put a photo together in Photoshop as no one picture had the right look on all the children at once and the client liked the result so gave me the go ahead even though I thought these photos would be a test run as I wanted to take the photos late in the afternoon but she really liked what I got. She was also happy with the progress last time she saw it with the baby's eyes turned toward the viewer as she requested and his brighter shirt. Now I'm interested in your comments before she sees it again.
I've attached the photo, the painting and a close up.
Pamela

Marcus Lim · 01-09-2006, 05:09 AM

Hi Pamela,
I personally find this image very heartwarming, and you must have enjoyed working on it. The poses and colors were well captured, without stifling the child's natural energy in your paintings.

What i thought would heighten this innocent energy would be to lighten / lessen the facial tones for the boy in red, and the toddler. I'm especially referring to the red cheeks on both kids, which seems to be making them look older right now.

Another thing we can do is to tone down on the toddler's eyes which seem to be having the whites of the eyes outstanding right now. In my experience, a toddler around this age would have very little eye whites.
So i hope with my two cent's worth, it'll be helpful to making it a remarkable painting.

Pamela Scherf · 01-09-2006, 08:42 AM

Dear Marcus,
I've changed the photos. These are nearer to the actual painting than the others were. They had too much red in and I hadn't realized. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Do you think they still have too much red in their cheeks now? I also put in the original photo off my computer. I thought I had lost it so I had scanned in the print out which came out a different colour. Also the one year old does have whites showing in his eyes as I had checked with a photo given me by the client.
Thanks from Pamela

Alexandra Tyng · 01-09-2006, 09:53 AM

Hi Pamela,

Could you post a closeup of the reference photos? This would be very helpful to me with my middle-aged vision.

Pamela Scherf · 01-09-2006, 07:16 PM

Dear Alexandra,
Here is a close up of the photo. I hope it helps.
Pamela

Alexandra Tyng · 01-09-2006, 07:37 PM

Pamela,

Thanks so much for the closeup. It's a lovely grouping of the three brothers, and I like the asymmetry of their positions. You really show their relationship, which is essential in a group portrait.

I wanted to see the closeup because I noticed that in your painting you have intensified the value contrast in their faces, resulting in a slightly old-mannish look, especially in the youngest and the boy to our left. Marcus's comment about the whites of the eyes is part of this, I think. In the photo, the values in the eye area, for instance, are more all-of-a-piece. Same with the mouth area, where you have exaggerated the contrast in the lines around the mouth, the contrast between the teeth, the darkness behind them, the lips, etc. The teeth become too "separate" although they may be accurately shaped. These areas stand out the most to me. When there is too much value contrast, it can be frustrating trying to get a likeness; you may feel "something is off" even though you have measured the proportions accurately.

Alex