I tried to cover the whole canvas but completely pooped out before tackling the reflection in the water, so it is still rough. I could use sets of eyes and expert suggestions as to color/temperature/value, etc. What do you see??
As mentioned under composition, I do not like this particularly but had already begun to paint. I ordered another canvas and while it is on backorder I decided to move ahead with this one. Good practice and learning tool, for sure.
Thank you for looking, and for your help, in advance!
It's so cool to see it here. Things really pop out. Immediately I can see that the value of the girl's back, lower, is too light and the boy on the left's t-shir is bad at the bottom. . I need help with suggestions of the boy's shirt. I changed it to red hoping for the "pop" effect. His shirt in the photo is the same color as the water.
I am not sure how deep to go in value with the darkest shadow in the water, just off their bodies. In the photo it looks so black and I don't want any dead spots.
If anyone has any suggestions about the reflection, jump right in. I know it will be important to get the right effect. There is no detail in the water, waves, etc. yet. I figure that would come nect. The paint is on very thin. It looks like the horizon dips a bit on the right. I will have to check that.
At this point all I have for good examples are Sorolla prints and Monet books. I dont' watn to go too impressionistic, but it is fun to slap on that paint!
Here is the reference photo. It is bad color reproduction. I think the hue in the scan is redder than the actual photo.
Boy are things screaming at me today. The value of the boys shirt on the left is much too dark. And the seascape, well, it just isn't there, yikes. My thought was to lay in deeper colors and bring up the waves, reflections in subsequent layers in lighter value. Now I am second guessing this decision, remembering what Marvin teaches, to keep the drawing in the correct value at all times.
The girl is wide at the waist and hip. . . I could go on but I would love your expert eyes...
Hi Patty, the first thing I have to say is don't freak out! It's only the beginning and it's better to see the mistakes now than later. One thing that helps me is to do a color study, just a small one. That way you can play with color and value without using lots of time and paint. You said you have a new canvas ordered. Why don't you divide this one up and use it for color studies? Maybe even do a black and white value study. I did one at a plein aire workshop last summer and it helped a lot when I got to the painting.
I agree with Marvin about keeping the values correct all through the painting, it can be difficult to lighten something later on. Having a black and white copy of both your source photo and your painting will help keep the values where they belong. I just convert both in paint shop and compare them side by side on the screen and mistakes pop right out.
Another thing I do is keep the paint smooth at the beginning, it's easier to fix drawing mistakes when you don't have to fight with ridges. I try to check my painting for ridges at the end of each painting session. If I miss some I scrape them off the next time I paint.
Doing a careful drawing helps too. And when I transfer I use acetate, and I save the acetate to keep track of the drawing; sometimes it gets away from me! So if I'm having problems I lay the acetate over the painting to check my drawing. I think you might find that helpful in keeping the reflections (and hip sizes, etc.) where they belong.
A T square would be handy to keep your horizon line straight.
The blue around the reflection...... I think it makes the water look deeper than it is, in the photo you can see the warm of the sand through the water. I would connect the reflections of the three kids on the left, they run together a little higher than you have it. I would squint to get the foam the right value. Compare your painting with the photo while squinting.
Hi Patty,
I still think that you could crop the motif a bit closer so that the persons become more like individuals in stead of just a group on the beach.
I think that it would be a waiste of time going on with a composition that is off.
Why not wash it all off with white spirit and start over on your canvas in stead of waiting for another to come?
Your best option, I think, is to wipe this painting out and start again on this canvas. You could re-grid the reference (in a different color), too, so that the grid is parallel to the horizon line. and the composition is shifted to the left.
The color looks pretty accurate to me. Personally I would try not to change too many factors, since this can make you crazy. So leaving the color as is can simplify things. If you squint, most of the water is actually closer to sand color (yellow ochre, raw umber light). On the right, in the shallow water, a reflection is just beginning, where the sand color turns slightly bluer, or pale greenish-blue. The underside of the wave on the left is also sand colored. Nothing in your imagination is as valuable as the colors in the reference. It really isn't a bad reference except for the lack of detail in the child's face.
To answer your question about how to treat the very dark shadow behind the children: On the left in the sand is the color of the sand in shadow. The color is the accurate sand-in-shadow color that extends behind the kids. The color of their reflections will be the color of their clothing or skin tinged with the color of this shadow.
I have printed up all of your comments and will have them with me when I clean off the canvas and start again! Now I am excited all over again. I guess I did not realize I could clean off the canvas and start fresh. Moving on with this one would have begun to frustrate me, now that I know working over darker colors with a higher value would have been difficult.
All of your comments help. Debra, is acetate the same as velum? I have the drawing on velum fortoace over the drawing. I am going out tonight to buy some white spirits to start again. I did not know I could do that. I'm excited. I did not want to wait until March.
I NEVER would have seen the difference between the cast shadow and the reflection, this really helps me understand what I am seeing and makes it clearer to understand the colors you see and suggest I use - they are all here on my palette.
Allan the paintings by Kreyer are awesome! Tonight is our date at tthe bookstore, I am headed to the art section (as usual) to find some good paintings to study. Any more artists to suggest?
Patty, acetate is a transparent film; it's available in art supply stores and comes in differing weights or thicknesses just like paper. It's available by the roll or in sheets. You use it just like you would vellum or tracing paper, and since it's clear you can put it right over the top of your painting to check your drawing. You can even tape it to your painting and paint right on it if you're thinking about making a change and want to do some experimenting first.
One of the nice things about it is that it's reusable. When I know I won't need the tracing anymore I clean it off with acetone (otherwise known as nail polish remover) and use it again. Since it's thicker than tracing paper I always stack books or magazines under my canvas when I transfer to keep the canvas from sagging down and I also make sure I don't press hard enough to make indents on the canvas. I use ultra fine point sharpies to transfer, I usually use red to trace my drawing, and then go over it with black when I transfer to the canvas, that way I don't (usually) miss anything.
It's only the beginning and it's better to see the mistakes now than later. One thing that helps me is to do a color study, just a small one. That way you can play with color and value without using lots of time and paint. You said you have a new canvas ordered. Why don't you divide this one up and use it for color studies? Maybe even do a black and white value study. I did one at a plein aire workshop last summer and it helped a lot when I got to the painting.
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