Portrait Artist Forum    

Go Back   Portrait Artist Forum > Oil Critiques
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search


Reply
 
Topic Tools Search this Topic Display Modes
Old 07-08-2006, 02:00 AM   #1
Garth Parker Garth Parker is offline
Portrait Finalist 2008 Artist Magazine
 
Garth Parker's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: Santa Barbara Ca
Posts: 98
Jeffrey




Jeffrey is 24x30
Attached Images
     
  Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2006, 02:51 PM   #2
Mike McCarty Mike McCarty is offline
PHOTOGRAPHY MODERATOR
SOG Member
'03 Finalist Taos SOPA
'03 HonMen SoCal ASOPA
'03 Finalist SoCal ASOPA
'04 Finalist Taos SOPA
 
Mike McCarty's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Posts: 2,674
Garth/Jerome,

I like this very much.

I don't have as much time as your nice painting deserves, but I would offer the following observations:

The one thing that I find somewhat incongruous is the way the white shirt competes for my attention. It's high key and sharp contrast is diminishing the muted affect you've achieved for your subject. Personally, I would reduce the influence of the white shirt a great deal.

At first blush the hands seem a bit larger than they would ordinarily be.

I would love to see some better reproductions posted.
__________________
Mike McCarty
  Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2006, 08:31 PM   #3
Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco is offline
Juried Member
 
Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2004
Location: London,UK
Posts: 640
Jerome, I second Mike's opinion on the shirt. You have painted the head very carefully, but the shirt is not as good.
I suggest that you go and look at some Renaissance painting, maybe Tiziano or Bronzino. You might find help on how to paint the folds in a more convincing way.
To me the hands don't look too large, but the shoulders might be smaller than they should, perhaps you should recheck your measurments.

I really believe this work deserves a little more time: the composition is balanced and the face well painted and solidly built.
You should make an effort to paint the shirt up to these standards. Don't forget a good way of judging your work could be to view it in a black and white reproduction : if you have a photo ref just turn it B&W also, all the tones will appear clear. I think that the shirt is too bright in places and too dark in some folds.
Let us know how is it going if you rework it.

Ilaria
__________________
Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco
  Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2006, 10:10 PM   #4
Alexandra Tyng Alexandra Tyng is offline
UNVEILINGS MODERATOR
Juried Member
 
Alexandra Tyng's Avatar
 
Joined: May 2005
Location: Narberth, PA
Posts: 2,485
Hi Jerome,

This composition is really well-balanced. I love the horizontal format and the position and placement of the figure.

Such a nice composition deserves a little more attention to the values. I agree with Mike and Ilaria that the white shirt could use reworking. You have a very bright white and extremely dark shadow in one object. If you think in terms of value massing, the shirt should hang together and read as one element. Because it is the lightest value, the shadows in it should be relatively light. The wrinkles could also be simplified, especially in the sleeve nearer to the viewer. The very dark crease in the forearm part of the sleeve seems not only too dark, but out of place. I would expect to see some gathering near the wrist.

You might also consider toning down the light areas on the shirt , not only to bring the value down, but also to reduce the contrast between the light and shadow.

The hat or headscarf suffers from a lack of roundness. Judging from the light on the face, I would expect to see some light on the cloth as it rounds the forehead.
  Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2006, 11:15 PM   #5
Terri Ficenec Terri Ficenec is offline
SOG Member
 
Terri Ficenec's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Southboro, MA
Posts: 1,028
Hi Jerome--
I agree with the comments above. . . this piece has a whole lot going for it! You might also want to look for bone/structural high points and shapes around his wrists especially to give more of a clue to what position his hands are really in. The interlaced fingers read well . . . but the wrists and elbows are lost. . . I'm thinking we should be seeing some structure at both (the wrists directly. . . the elbows impacting the folds of the fabric)

Very nice so far!!
__________________
Terri Ficenec
http://www.terrificenec.com
  Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2006, 02:56 AM   #6
Garth Parker Garth Parker is offline
Portrait Finalist 2008 Artist Magazine
 
Garth Parker's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: Santa Barbara Ca
Posts: 98
Mike, Ilaria, Alex and Terri,
Thank you so much for taking a look at this. I was looking to paint the clothing loosely but the contrast does seem overly sharp. I
  Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing this Topic: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Topics
Thread Topic Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Jeffrey Garth Parker Oil Critiques 3 05-27-2005 08:56 PM

 

Make a Donation



Support the Forum by making a donation or ordering on Amazon through our search or book links..







All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.