The Bennett/Core Children

Rebecca Willoughby · 08-13-2002, 02:19 AM

This portrait will be one of the largest I have ever done! It will also be the first one with four subjects. I also have closeups of each one in the same spots to get details of face, hands, etc. It will be gouache and colored pencil. Any comments?

Rebecca

Chris Saper · 08-13-2002, 10:30 AM

Hi Rebecca,

This painting will be so much fun! There are just a few things to watch out for, as I look at this photo. First, I would drop the horizon line a little so it's on a plance with the woman's eyes. That way it won't present any possible tangent problems, and will help support a focal point. (Norman Rockwell used this convention for many of the Saturday Evening Post covers, during the years when the cover format always consisted of two parallel black lines under the magazine name. Here's an example : http://www.masterpiece-paintings-gal...wet-canvas.htm he painted.)

Second, when photos have such strong contrast, there is a temptation to fall prey to the "value clumping" that is represented in the photo (that is, the darks are too dark and too compressed, the lights too light, and too few middle tones). To combat this use an overexposed print to located middle tones in shadows, and and underexposed print to (try) find tones in the light. Sometimes, though, there just isn't enough information on the film to get as much as you'd like.

Rebecca Willoughby · 08-13-2002, 09:39 PM

Thanks, Chris!

I altered the horizon line in Photoshop and I liked the results! Every year my State Farm Insurance agent sends me a Norman Rockwell calendar. It is great! I keep them all. I hadn't seen this one though. This will be a BIG portrait. I can't wait to get started!

Thanks,
Rebecca

Chris Saper · 08-13-2002, 11:07 PM

It is terribly difficult to have a portrait with four subjects work equally well as a painting. As I look at this photo (of course I don't have benefit of the face details you will actually use) I would see the standing boy as the foremost center of interest, and all the others sublimated to him, even thought they have eye contact with the viewer. What are your thoughts on the matter?

Rebecca Willoughby · 08-14-2002, 12:15 AM

Boy, Chris, you are good!!

You are right. He is the center of attention. I let them position themselves. He was the first one to take his place. He is very athletic and competitive. His fraternal twin brother (seated), is a computer geek and wanted to have his picture painted playing chess. He just said "I'm sitting down." The older sister has a separate father and really takes the motherly role with them and the youngest is a tomboy who just wanted to take that dress off and swim! Therefore she is as close to the water as she could get. It was wonderful working with them and their mother just picked this photo right out of about four rolls! She loved it! "That's my kids!"

By the way, great article in The Artist's Magazine in August! Keep all that great information coming, Chris. I'm soaking it all up!!! I keep expecting to get a bill from you for all of your help! Maybe I'll send you a king cake next Mardi Gras!

Thanks,
Rebecca

Chris Saper · 08-14-2002, 10:30 AM

This does relate a little to the thread, "What do you do with all the photographs?" http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...&threadid=1105
and is an excellent example of how important (I think) it is to have the parent participate early on. Without that input, you or I might have chosen an entirely different set of images, great for painting, but not reflecting the mother's sense of dynamics in the relationship among the kids. Once you have more than one subject in a painting, IMO you have to deal the relationship, otherwisde you're better off doing a pair of singles.

p.s. Actually I'm just in it for the cake.

Mari DeRuntz · 08-15-2002, 10:57 AM

I was one of the posters on that thread and have to say I see your point here, Chris. I was a little surprised how isolated my opinion was on that thread. But I think some of the differences pointed to the more general topic of portrait artists' use of photographs, and some of the hazards we need to be aware of if we work from them (of course your book beautifully points out these issues).

It must be my INFP (introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving) nature to pick up on the character nuances in a photograph.

I look at this photograph and I get the narrative without knowing the children.

Rebecca, I think this is going to be a great challenge and a lot of fun. What size are you going to work on? Please keep us posted on the progress. I have never seen colored pencil work larger than 16" x 20" and I'm sure there are many quiet forum visitors who are just as curious.

Rebecca Willoughby · 08-15-2002, 08:01 PM

Mari,

This painting is going to be 24" x 30". I combine gouche and colored pencils together and I even incorporate a little pastel or india ink as needed. I guess all those years as an illustrator show up in my work. What I did not mention earlier is that this reference photo is actually five photos put together in Photoshop. What the client sees is the positions of the children. The faces or hand positions etc. are a combination of photos. Obviously, this would not be possible for your run-of-the-mill portrait photographer. When there is only one subject it might be easier to get just the right shot, but with four...whew! I had to work for this one!! If anyone wants to see the other pics, I will post them.

My work is very photorealistic so therefore my clients kind of expect it to look alot like the picture. I have had clients tell me though that my work looks more "alive" than the portraits they have made. Hopefully my website will be up by the beginning of October so that ya'll (yeh I'm southern!) can see my past work and my nonportrait work.

By the way while I was there I took some great shots of my two girls in the same setting with long cotton slip dresses on, barefoot! I can't wait to get started on that one.

Rebecca

Alicia Kornick · 08-15-2002, 08:54 PM

Hi Rebecca,

Great photo. Since you are such an expert in Photoshop, you'll have to come over here and give me a few lessons. Where did you take the photo?

Alicia

Rebecca Willoughby · 08-15-2002, 09:05 PM

Alicia,

I would love to give you lessons. I have used Photoshop professionally for 12 years. It is amazing what you can do with it! I'm sorry I have not been in touch. My chocolate lab was hit by a car and had to have surgery Monday. It has been an ordeal. My five year old had testing this week for kindergarten. And I have a big art show in downtown Hammond tomorrow night. She starts next weekI won't be as tied down then.

I went to Fountainbleau State Park in Mandeville Saturday. It was at two o'clock and I would have preferred either earlier or later, but I had to work around the family! It is great over there. There is a pretty beach and a big garden of oak trees, a pond with a couple of big cypress trees and couple of other nice spots, like part of an old sugar mill. My brother lives in Abita Springs, and he and his wife ride bikes there. There is a nice bike or hiking trail.

Rebecca