Son's portrait

Julia Reynolds · 11-13-2002, 06:05 PM

Hello,

I need help, direction and advice. I think this is the right forum to start. I am sending a portrait I did of my son in front of a small Japanese maple tree. This is the first painting after an 8 year hiatus. I am hoping to become a professional portrait artist.

I know there is plenty that could be improved, but sometimes I just can't see it.

Thanks,
Julia

Michele Rushworth · 11-14-2002, 02:09 PM

Lovely. I like the angle of the light source and the reflections from his shirt.

You might want to check the shape of his ear. The irregular shape of the outer edge caught my eye first. Maybe that's how his ear is shaped, but it's worth a second look just to be sure.

The reds seem to be too saturated overall. You might want to soften that down a bit.

It also looks to me like the light source on his hair is inconsistent with the light in the rest of the image. Not sure, but it looks like you'd need a separate light on his hair to get the effect I see in the painting. I'd expect to see the same kind of rim lighting you have on the right side of the face.

The sharp edginess of the hair is a bit distracting from the softness of the rest of the image, too. A bit of blending there might make the hair less distracting.

Can you post your reference if you did this from a photo?

Overall, very nice, though!

Julia Reynolds · 11-14-2002, 02:35 PM

Thank you, Michele,

Here is the source photo.

You see his little ear is all crooked. It is part of what makes him Daniel. You are not the first to comment on it, but what should I do? Remove it?

I agree with your critique. You are right on about the hair. The paper is a maroon color but I guess I should have used more complementary colors.

I work much better with life than photos. I can see color much better. I am going to post a portrait I did at the Art Student's League before I took my eight year hiatus. I did this in two and half hours from a live model.

Julia

Chris Saper · 11-14-2002, 03:12 PM

Dear Julia,

It is a pleasure to see this lovely portrait, and it is at a strong stage of finish (at least the way I would finish it) so that the comments I have are very subtle ones.

First, I like the dominant reds. I think you have been very successful in introducing just enough cools to offer temperature relief, without disrupting the harmony.

I can't comment on the likeness, not knowing the subject, but the drawing looks solid. The amount of red in the cheek on our right makes the trun very gradual, so you will need to judge whether this is correct based on your knowledge of the subject, or whether you want to extend the cool in the shadow to ourright to sharpen the turn. I can see that the actual turn of this cheek has the strongest and warmest color, based on the sunlight source, which is right to do.

With regard to the ear, I agree with Michele, check the shape and whether you wish to leave the silhouette edge with this degree of sharpness.

I like the background. It stays in the back, provides a sense of setting without being too literal, and produces a sense of movement in what might otherwise be a somewhat static pose.

The only area I might suggest that you revisit is the shadow tangent that is happening where the background dark meets the hairline silhouette on our upper left.

I have those same little "What color is this?' marks on the corners of all my pastels, too. From these I anticipate where you will end up placing your mat, so once the mat is cut and temporarily placed, be sure to go back in to see that the red leaves don't form a pointing tangent at the edge of the picture. One last thing, place the mat before you place your signature.

Very nice job!

Chris Saper · 11-14-2002, 03:16 PM

p.s. Your typing is so quick, the source photo went up while I was posting! The ear shape looks right.

Julia Reynolds · 11-14-2002, 04:10 PM

Chris,

Thank you for your suggestions. They are on target.

I am so happy I found this Forum! To be able to have your work critiqued by such high caliber artists is truly invaluable.

Thank you all. I'll be posting more. Working on a self-portrait right now. The model works cheap and she is always available

Julia

Karin Wells · 11-14-2002, 10:05 PM

The light confused me when I first looked at this portrait. But after seeing your reference photo I now understand it...you have a great deal of reflected light from Daniel's shirt.

I like to differentiate reflected light from direct light. Reflected light is usually "stepped down" a notch or two in value from direct light. I also like to add pure intense color into reflected light when I can get away with it (i.e., cadmium orange). Direct light tends to bleach out and warm up the surface that it strikes and is more intense.

Because of the brilliant use of reds in this work, I am not sure that this would work for you here as it might upset your balance. However, it might be worth your while to experiment with this differentiation of kinds of light in the future.

Also, I'd suggest that you soften the outline on the edge of the ear. The shape is unusual and too much of a focus in your painting whereas it isn't a particularly prominent or noticeable feature in the reference photo.

Karin Wells · 11-14-2002, 10:38 PM

This is an example of what I am talking about in regards to "getting away" with heightened color in reflected light. The light under Whitney's chin, nose and lower lip is reflected light and is pure cadmium orange + yellow ochre (no white added). Despite the bright color, it is not really noticeable unless you're looking for it.

Sorry that I did not have a pastel example. This is oil, but the principle is the same.

Michele Rushworth · 11-14-2002, 11:05 PM

(Karin, thanks for posting this closeup. I've been anxious for the opportunity to really study your work from a photo with this level of detail!)

Julia Reynolds · 11-15-2002, 12:44 AM

Karin,

Thank you for taking the time to critique my work. Your work is beautiful and I do see what you mean by using a pure color in the reflected light. Do you think a pure "cool" color may have worked in my portrait, perhaps a very high key blue?

Ah, the ear. I get so many comments on it. I will definitely have to tone it down, soften the edges. But I have to say that my son's ears are bent, almost like he was hung on a clothesline when he was born, and I find them so endearing. But if it doesn't read well then it has to go. My philosophy is "either it's right or it's wrong".

Thanks again,
Julia