Jerry Thomas

Bryan Morgan · 09-06-2003, 02:50 PM

Here is the corrected painting of Jerry Thomas that I posted a couple of weeks ago with your suggestions. I think that this painting taught me alot about realing studying values and making good judgements. Any comments or suggestions on how to improve this painting would be greatly appreciated, since I'm still learning.

Jeff Fuchs · 09-07-2003, 10:28 AM

Looking good, Bryan. Much improved.

There are two things I'd work on, though. The shadowed side of the neck is catching too much light. It's as bright as the lit side. I find it distracting. In the photo, it goes to nearly black, which would not be appropriate in a painting, but it tells you that this area is as dark as any dark you use elsewhere.

Also, the bridge of the nose is too sharply defined. In the photo, the nose is softly rounded.

You're almost there. Nice work.

Bryan Morgan · 09-08-2003, 01:25 PM

Jeff,
Thanks for the suggestions. I do see what you're talking about, the neck is too light. I will adjust the values and also correct the nose. This painting has been a great learning experience for me. Hopefully one day I will be able to render a portrait as absolutely photo realistic.

Steven Sweeney · 09-09-2003, 11:06 AM

Very big improvement overall.

The new background could be more effective, I think. The hue on our left is very intense. I believe you would benefit by cutting that back a little (moving away from the yellow toward the blue on the spectrum. Please note that I'm NOT saying make the background blue, just cut the intensity of the yellow-orange on our left. It's competing very strongly with the subject. As has been said by others, backgrounds should stay back.)

And I think the depth of the piece overall would be enhanced by slightly lowering the value of the background on our right (the subject's lighted side), which will increase the value contrast between the subject and the background and thereby separate them.

Very nice work on the "rebuild".

Jeff Fuchs · 09-09-2003, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Hopefully one day I will be able to render a portrait as absolutely photo realistic.

Ouch! Don't do that! Read the recent thread on Cafe Guerbois. It's not about photo reproduction. It's about capturing the essence of the person.

But let's face it, if you did make paintings that were photo realistic, there would be a market for it.

Bryan Morgan · 09-09-2003, 03:16 PM

Steven,

Thanks for the advice it really paid off. Actually the background value on the lighter side of the subject is darker, The camera just didn't capture it. But I do agree with you on toning down the yellow orange to a more cooler color. Again thanks for your time and comments.