Sarah in Progress

[Stacey McEwen]

Terri,

This turned out beautifully! It's fun to see you working in oils.

Thanks for posting while it was in progress - I learned a lot from seeing how you tackled certain problems. I too have a tendency to blend my darks away - sometimes I end up repainting the bulk of a face multiple times to get it right.

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Terri,

You're in luck because both Tarbell and Benson were Massachusetts men. I know there are lots of their paintings in museums in the East; Boston seems the place to start.

Their outdoor color may be too wild and impressionistic for your taste, but I think that outdoor/bright sunlight paintings are THE place to experiment with strong flesh colors.

First, a Benson:

[Linda Brandon]

And now a Tarbell:


What I like about these painters is that they are convincing. Whether they've painted these outside or not, or from a photo or not, I feel as if they have been outside and know how it feels to be outside. (Plus, it is hugely fun as a painter to get out there and paint.)

Oh, my own colors: well, Diox. Purple (try mixing it with Naples Yellow) and Cinnabar Green are two colors that show up in my outdoor flesh tones but not in my indoor ones. (I am far too humble a painter to post my own work in a post which contains a Tarbell.)

I think your own work is wonderful and getting fresher all the time. I'm revved up about seeing another SOG painter who seems to like the outdoor portraits as much as you seem to.

[Linda Brandon]

And I can't resist posting a Sorolla:

[Judson Eneas]

I like the painting of Sarah. Excellent likeness. But I think that you need to add a little bit more rouge to the face. For rouge I would mix cadmium red medium with a little yellow ochre and a lot of white.

[Terri Ficenec]

Leslie, Kim - Thanks!... I've got to admit, it was not the fault of wet paint that caused the darks to keep disappearing, but my own over-blending. I had previously read (somewhere on the forum, but don't remember where) about painting into a bit of linseed or walnut oil - so that was how I was adding shadows over previously dried paint. It makes it almost too easy to get nice soft blends. I am planning on going to one of Tim Tyler's workshops this summer, can't wait!

Stacey - I know what you mean, me too!. And every time I tried to adjust any part of the lips I wound up repainting the entire mouth. As far as posting works in process, I am so grateful for the incredible generosity of those who are willing/able to take the time to offer critique - I am learning so much!

Linda - Hi - Thanks for sharing those beautiful paintings! I'm sure my computer screen doesn't do them justice, that they are even more impressive in real-life. They are a bit more impressionistic, than I'm comfortable painting, but I do enjoy looking at them!

Judson - Thanks! I agree that her face could perhaps have used a bit more color, but I couldn't seem to get any more of a blush on her without her looking sunburnt. I really struggled with these fleshtones in shadow the way they are.