I could use some guidance on this one...

Mary Sparrow · 04-23-2002, 10:34 AM

I started this last night. It is of my grandfather, for my mother. He passed away a couple of weeks ago, so I am going off a poor photo and memory. The likeness is good, so that is not an issue. My problem is I have NEVER painted an older person. I only do children, with the occasional young mother. So this is new territory for me.

Karin, this is my first attempt also at using the Genesis paints you recommended, and I have to say- THEY ARE FUN! Because I bought the basic kit, I had a weird palette to work with, so that too has been a challenge.

Anyway, I could really use some advice on how to proceed with this. Thanks!

Cynthia Daniel · 04-23-2002, 11:15 AM

In looking at the pupils, it looks like you accomplished this image in two scans, one of the lower and one of the upper part and then fit them together?

Mary Sparrow · 04-23-2002, 04:12 PM

NO. That was just a huge error on my part, I noticed it as soon as I looked at this post. It is amazing to me how blatant mistakes become to me when I see them through a monitor. I have fixed that. I probably should have gotten further into this painting before I posted it. An hour isn't enough time for anything, Im just nervous painting someone older since I never have.

Peter Jochems · 04-24-2002, 03:58 AM

Hi Mary,

Perhaps you can post the original photograph, so we can make better comments. I like the expression in his face. My first response is that the skin is painted very smoothly for someone that age. Maybe you can try to use a little rougher kind of brushwork.

greetings,
Peter

Karin Wells · 04-24-2002, 08:52 AM

Are you working wet on wet (a la prima)? Or have you dried this layer?

I usually paint what is underneath first...i.e., I tend to really model the face in light and shadow (concentrating on all the structural detail) first....then let the painting surface dry.

Later I add my highlights and then lastly, put in my reflected lights.

As to working with older people, be careful not to make shadows appear as dark as in your reference photograph...remember that you are dealing with form....not "lines." (See Rembrandt's elderly mother below...lots of wrinkles but they don't overshadow the form).

Peggy Baumgaertner · 04-24-2002, 01:46 PM

Mary,

Think of the head as being an egg.

This is one of those statements that is so obvious that when I say it, eyes roll in the head of many listeners and I am immediately dismissed. However, it is one of the most profound statements in the creation of a portrait. There is not one head produced by a master that is not clearly, simply, and three dimensionally an egg shape, and this three dimensional shape is missing in the vast majority of non-masterful works. It is an easy fix, but so easy to overlook.

On to your portrait. If you think of your grandfather's head as being an egg shape, the light will be only on the top of the egg, the forehead. There are too many light portions, I call them "hot spots" on your grandfather's head, the sides of the face and jaw as it hits the background, the sides of the mouth, the cheeks, the sides of the nose, the back of the neck and the neck under the jaw, are all the same value as the highlight on the forehead. You are missing the solid, three dimensionality of the shape of the head.

Your drawing abilities are strong, the next step is to create a solid structure involving the control of values and the creation of a sense of space and dimension.

I have attached a detail of my portrait of the Charlton family. You can see the "egginess" of the three heads.

Peggy

Joan Breckwoldt · 04-24-2002, 06:42 PM

Peggy,

I am very interested in the focus of the three subjects in the beautiful portrait you posted. Could you comment on how you arrived at having the boy looking into the viewer and the other two subjects looking to the side. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks,
Joan

Peggy Baumgaertner · 04-25-2002, 12:29 PM

Joan,

I don't want to take away from the critique of Mary's grandfather's portrait, so I have moved this thread to the Paints, Medium, Technique and Composition page under "Compositional Sightlines".

http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=726

Peggy

Michele Rushworth · 04-26-2002, 12:36 AM

Mary, I'm guessing that the reference photos you have were all taken with a flash, is that right? It's a difficult problem with posthumous portraits. That type of lighting in the source photos would lead to lots of bright flat areas and no sense of roundness.

You might want to see if there are other photos of him that you could paint from instead, photos that might have a strong window side light, for example.

Mike McCarty · 04-26-2002, 04:50 PM

Mary, here is an off the wall idea, if the photo you have lacks the kind of shading and modeling that you require here is a suggestion. Find another man, anyone really, place them in the identical pose with a single source of light. Photo this person and study the resulting shadows and highlights, which could translate if the pose is similar, and do your best to interpret them onto your painting. I have a hard time guessing at where shadows might start and stop.