One-year-old girl

Chuck Yokota · 06-27-2006, 09:23 AM

Hi y'all!

It's been some time since I've posted a painting. Here is a portrait of a one-year-old little girl. 20 x 16, oil on canvas, all critiques welcome, digital demonstration ok.

Alexandra Tyng · 06-27-2006, 06:20 PM

Chuck, you've captured an alert and lively expression on this adorable little girl. I especially like the intelligence in her eyes.

I'm going to address two aspects of your painting. The first is proportion. Unless there is something highly unusual about her facial proportions, her eyes should be approximately halfway between the top of her head and the bottom of her chin. I am assuming you painted this girl from a photo since it would be pretty much imposible to get her to sit still. Did you take the photo from a point above her? Often the distortion makes the top of the head much larger than it really is.

The other issue is, I think, much more significant and not as easy to address. It has to do with the lack of a unified color in the space around the figure. You have used a darker shade of pink for the skin shadow, a darker shade of blue for the dress shadow, etc. The background is greyish-green. None of it holds together. Furthermore the figure seems cut out and not rounded because it is disassociated from the background. There is a thread in this forum on backgrounds, under "color theory" that might help somewhat.

Sharon Knettell · 06-28-2006, 12:02 PM

I do agree with Alex's comments about color harmony. I try to do a color study before I proceed. I identify the dominant color, in your case, pink and balance it with a dull complementary, which in this case will be a grey green.

I do have to disagree with her comments about children's head proportions.

At approximately one to three years old the center of the head lies at the eyebrow line and gradually moves down as we grow to the eye line at adulthood.

A good reference for head proportions is Roberta Carter Clark's book , "How to Paint Living Portraits". It has a wealth of knowledge, including useful head size charts and good lighting information.

Richard Bingham · 06-28-2006, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

. . .I do have to disagree with her comments about children's head proportions. At approximately one to three years old the center of the head lies at the eyebrow line . . .

That's just so. "Formulae" for the average head construction of children is less noted in most "how to" books, observation from the life is most valuable. Another "earmark" of the very young is outsized eyes . . .

For another source of "average construction" of the head and figure for all ages, see Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for All Its Worth Viking Press, 1942

Alexandra Tyng · 06-28-2006, 01:16 PM

OK, you two, I stand corrected! I was thinking of the eye area rather than the eyeball specifically, but I should have been more specific, and children's heads do have more up there--it's all that potential.

Chuck Yokota · 06-28-2006, 07:59 PM

Alexandra, Sharon, and Richard,

Thank you for your critiques. I see from my reference that she did have her chin slightly tucked, which I did not show in the portrait. She was very active; with both her parents trying to hold her, she was a blur in most of the photos. I will need to understand color harmony better.

Here is the reference.

Michele Rushworth · 06-29-2006, 04:55 PM

I wouldn't paint from this photo, mostly because the mouth is a blur and trying to guess what it would look like will be impossible.

Chuck Yokota · 06-30-2006, 08:48 AM

Michelle,

Thank you for your good advice. I wish I did have a better reference. I took well over a hundred photos, and this was by far the best of the lot. I don't have enough windows to make the room light enough to use a fast shutter speed. With a child this active, it really was a problem.

Alexandra Tyng · 06-30-2006, 09:48 AM

Chuck, you could always take 100 more! If your space doesn't have enough light, maybe the clients' home does. Instead of making do with less than optimal conditions, it is important to create optimal conditions before you even pick up a brush. I am thinking of your hard work and precious time.

Michele Rushworth · 06-30-2006, 11:37 AM

Some subjects are just the wrong age to be painted, also. I know artists who won't paint a child under the age of 4 because they're often too wiggly.