Little girl by drape - in progress

[Michele Rushworth]

It also seems as if the face in the painting is not wide enough, though that could appear to be the case if you photographed the painting at a slight angle.

Can you post the whole body reference photo so I can see what she looked like before you "straightened her up a little bit"? I don't think you need to repaint the whole thing. You just need to keep the features of the face in alignment with whatever axis of the head you're using.

Of course, lots of "straightening up" can throw off your light and shadow areas from what they would naturally be, but I don't think that's the problem here.

[Will Enns]

Alicia,

I will not comment on the painting itself, but would like to suggest a trick that has helped me with shapes and values when comparing a photo reference with a painting in progress. It's a simple trick, which you can implement using your photo editor.

1) Open your painting in one window of your photo editor, and your photo in a second window.

2) Drag the window with the photo over the window with the painting so that a critical reference point, such as an eye, lines up.

3) Resize the photo so the dimensions of the face exactly match the face in the painting.

4) Use Ctrl+Tab to flip back and forth between the two images. Adjust one window for optimum placement.

(Re: Ctrl+Tab. My system is Windows based. If you use Mac, your key combinations are probably different and you should consult a Mac expert).

You will immediately be able to see the differences between the two, because they are overlaid.

I've cropped and resized the images you've posted to demonstrate the technique. You'll find them below.

I've cropped them to the same size, with the photo placed according to the collar, then resized according to the top of the ribbon. All you have to do is drag the photo window exactly over the painting window, and Ctrl+Tab away.

I hope this helps,
Will

[Will Enns]

Second image

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Another wonderful tool that might help is on Photoshop, labeled Opacity. Open your original photo. Then scan in a photo of the work in progress. Make sure the images on the screen are the same dimensions.

Copy the work in progress, then switch to the original photo and open

[Steven Sweeney]

Those of you gifted and blessed folks with computer savvy would be welcomed like liberators in the Computer section of the Forum.

Any advices as to procedures that you regularly and productively use would, I guarantee, be gratefully received there as well.

[Alicia Kornick]

Thanks Will and Enzie. I will play with this in Photoshop. Wish I had known about this before now. Not sure how much I can change it without repainting the whole face.

[Steven Sweeney]

Alicia,

It's of course up to you whether it's necessary to "repaint the whole face", but if that's what you decide needs to be done, don't be afraid of it. I've had so many instances of thinking that I was okay with a piece (tired of it, even), and then had an instructor say, "You can push this. Keep looking." And in those next couple of hours, the "little" changes completely transformed the work that I'd already decided was close enough.

I've also said, "I can't move the eye, I'll never get it that good again." And of course my instructor immediately corrected me. "What do you mean, you can't?. You have to."

One of the greatest gifts I ever received in this was from a poorly paid but talented and dedicated instructor who led some of us around to different plein air sites. I was frustrated with my realization that I'd mispainted a number of things in my maritime scene, and I proposed putting on a new canvas and trying again. She said no. "We're not here to start over," she told me. "We're here to solve problems."

I know only too well how hard it is to go back into a piece and make changes, but if you're convinced that they need to be made, you won't regret it, and if you don't make changes that you're sure should be made, you might be second-guessing yourself for a long time.