Louise

Carolyn Ortiz · 07-11-2005, 06:53 AM

Hello everyone,

Here

Carolyn Ortiz · 07-11-2005, 08:38 AM

Well I can see there's way too much magenta in these photos. (My grandma's not yet part of the purple haired ladies gang.

) I'll try to load up more accurate photos soon.

Molly Sherrick Phifer · 07-11-2005, 10:22 AM

You're doing a beautiful job with your grandma! She looks very alive. I think the collection case is extremely well done as well. I can't even imagine all that painstaking detail!
I am far from an expert on composition, but my feeling is that the adjacent furniture along the sides of the painting create a sense of being boxed in. Also, they keep drawing my eye as they don't seem perfectly plumb. I'm sure this is due to the photo and not your piece itself. I think those verticals could be superfluous and may detract from the beauty of the piece.

I really like the middle photo, where you have cropped your grandma to a 3/4 view. The surface of the seat looks perfect in this one, whereas when I see the whole picture the seat looks somewhat flat to me although I think that the material drapes over the side.

I hope this doesn't sound too critical, because I really do think this is terrific (wish I had done it

)! Just wanted to let you know what seemed to stand out for me. Your grandma is very beautiful and youthful looking. I can certainly see a family resemblance!

Carolyn Ortiz · 07-12-2005, 04:27 AM

Hi Molly,

Too critical!? No, not at all! Thank you, you brought up the seat looking flat and I totally agree. It's one of the areas I've been trying to make look 3 - dimensional but somehow I can't get the curve right. I wish I knew what to do to round it out. Maybe it has something to do with the dark pattern of plants? Haven't figured it out, any ideas?

My idea behind having the bookcase to the left with more of it shown was to keep this composition balanced better. I really like asymmetrical compositions, and I think with out that bookshelf it would be too off balance. But I could be completely wrong! It's hard to get a very good picture of this. Some how in real life the cabinets to the sides help make diagonals towards my grandmas face and I swear the lines are strait

.

Allan also brought up that the other furniture wasn't necessary. Right now I'm not sure what to do about it. Think I'll play around in photoshop and see if it looks better with out. If so, this is going to be a big surgery!

Thanks again Molly for your reply. I really appreciate it!

~Carolyn

(Here are a few more photos that are closer to the right colors, maybe somewhere in between is what it really looks like...)

Jimmie Arroyo · 07-12-2005, 10:47 PM

Carolyn, I remember when you had first posted this and it is coming along very well. You're persistence will pay off, I'm sure you will finish this just fine!

Carolyn Ortiz · 07-13-2005, 05:08 AM

Hi Jimmie,

Thanks for the encouragement. I see a lot of things I should have done differently on this one and am starting to let too many self doubts creep in. I really need to finish it and get on to the next and try not to make the same mistakes again.

I did play around in photoshop and see that you guys were right. It could have been better with out all the furniture. Unfortunately I think I will really mess it up if I try to cover them up. But thanks for pointing it out. I hope to do better in the planning stages for the next one.

Allan Rahbek · 07-13-2005, 09:32 AM

Carolyn,

If you plan to remove some pastel you could use a short stiff hog hair brush to erase with. Keep the drawing vertical, or more, to be sure that the dust can fall off the drawing. Then it would be easier to cover the area with new pastels.

Allan

Claudemir Bonfim · 07-13-2005, 11:31 AM

What a beautiful work Carolyn, beautiful in every detail.

Linda Brandon · 07-13-2005, 12:24 PM

Carolyn, I like this very much, particularly the variation of colors in the flesh and the way you have attractively softened the facial features (older women in particular appreciate this.

).

As you complete this you might like to think about where you could add a harder edge, possibly in the fabric?

I also like the idea of placing people in front of significant collections. You've handled this well!

Carolyn Ortiz · 07-14-2005, 05:17 AM

Thanks for the tip Allan. I am a little nervous about trying it only because I don't want any of the dark pastel to get stuck on my grandmas face and have to touch up her face again. I think I've gotten it about as close as I can, and I'm afraid I might not be able to do it again. I'm going to have to think about it for a a couple days and then decide.

Thanks Claudemir for your nice comment, I'm so glad you like it.

Linda, thanks so much for your response. The funny thing is I use to not pay attention to edges until I started reading a lot here. So I really tied to keep the edges soft, and I went overboard! ha ha. I will definitely try to put some harder edges back in, and the shirt would be a good place. Thank you!

~Carolyn