Eve's Alternative

Kimberly Dow · 10-15-2004, 06:36 PM

OK - there are several comments on the hand/arm there behind the apples. I agree and wish I had this girl to try again, but I dont - so I wont - this will just have to be a learning lesson. Although I will try to make it look better/clearer like has been suggested.

I will soften that line on the back shoulder (our right) - that is bothering me as well now that it has been mentioned.

Sharon - what a great suggestion...Eve's Other Choice...I like it. I will seriously consider changing them thar apples.

Sharon - Now wait just a second. I am not trying to show anyone how wonderful I am. I am trying to learn. But hey - if you say so...ok....Im wonderful.
I dont want to argue about it - your absolutely right - I am terrific!!
No - no - really...you know best and I have to defer to your opinion - I am wonderful! I am SO glad we got that settled!

Thank you Julie, Terri, Allen, Alicia and Sharon - I appreciate it!

Kimberly Dow · 10-15-2004, 06:45 PM

Sharon - now you are jsut trying to confuse me by adding more about the color! The background is actually a neutral gray. I noticed on another critique you gave me that you mentioned a certain color and it wasnt really there. I dont know if it is my computer - or yours. What say the rest of you? Does the background look gray or green? It's in reality a cool gray, blue-ish - with a couple of areas (by the orange and to the right of her head as we look at it ) that has a little orange blended in.

Terri Ficenec · 10-15-2004, 06:59 PM

Well...
I'd actually thought of it as a blue-gray, maybe a little less saturated and lighter than the bottom of her outfit. Until Sharon called it green, then I went back and looked and it does almost look a little green too.

If I pull it up in Paint Shop Pro and use the color selector to get a sense of the RGB's, it looks like maybe it's more of a very neutral dark blue towards the bottom and less blue towards the top, where R is generally higher than G which is higher than B levels putting most of the top half of the painting (surprisingly!) in a very neutral 'orange' shade, according to the Paint Shop Pro color selector!! The colors are so neutral though that I'd guess the tiniest variation in white balance of your photo could change how they appear?

Kimberly Dow · 10-15-2004, 07:08 PM

Terri - I guess...I dont even know enough about photoshop to really follow what you just said! I used fairly neutral gray - no blue in the background, but it still looks cool. The bottom part I added a bit of black and a darker neutral gray. It does appear darker than the original as I keep looking. The hip shape shows more than it does here - I think.

If anyone has ever used John Sanden's portrait colors - the neutral grays are what I used in the background.... I love those pre-mixed grays of his and use them for backgrounds a lot....don't really use the colors for skin though (before anyone gets after me).

Sharon Knettell · 10-15-2004, 07:16 PM

Kimberly,

The background does look olive to me. However, if them there apples stay you would need some green as a complementary. Even if you do not have a color corrected version on the web, it would most likely register more harmoniously than it does. A grey blue background would be better, then you could substitute les oranges.

Apparently a lot of posters think you have a lot of ability or they wouldn't be bugging so unmercifully.

I will try to post my study of Alicia Rose soon to show you how stupid, simple, easy and TIME SAVING an itty bitty 12"x16"color study is.

I was happy with Marvin's Paxton portrait colors and found them exceptionally easy to work with.

I do not use premixed colors as I find the background color so influences the whole composition that it has to be well considered and fine tuned. If you photograph during daylight, a set up of the out-fit against your background color in the same light, will give you the best information as to it's tonality.

Linda Brandon · 10-15-2004, 09:22 PM

Kim,

I held my tongue on your earlier post of this painting because I really do admire this painting, but them thar fruits are too close to the edge of the canvas to make me happy. If you had followed Sharon's directions to make a quick study first, you could have avoided this problem by either resizing Eve totally, or (and this is what I would have done) turning this into a square painting. When I do biggish paintings I cut out a big piece of brown paper the same size as the canvas and do a charcoal study to make sure I don't have compositional problems. More agile minds could figure this out in a 5" x 7" scrap of paper but I seem to need the same-size dummy scrap to visualize porportions.

You have a nice brush technique on this painting, nicely done!

Kimberly Dow · 10-15-2004, 10:13 PM

Sharon - you mean all this nitpicking is because I am wonderful?

This is all good advice - I need to muddle through now what to do.

Linda - you will be pleased to know the hands and fruit are not that close to the edge - I had to crop the jpg since I didnt photograph it straight enough. It's in the studio, but I'd guess there is maybe 2-3 inches from each edge to the hands/fruit. Does that help?

Sharon - I guess I am going to have to start doing color studies or your going to nag me to death. Imagine the time I am going to save YOU from critiquing. What are you going to do with all that extra time?

Michele Rushworth · 10-16-2004, 12:29 AM

Love it --- your best yet, by far, in my opinion!

However........The asymmetry of her nose and mouth make her far less attractive than she should be (and probably is) and distracts a lot from the rest of the painting, I think.

Jimmie Arroyo · 10-16-2004, 03:06 PM

Hey Kim,

Very nice job, I really like the brush application. This is a critique area, so I will just say her right ear does'nt look like it received the same attention. It could just be my screen.
But......

Quote:

Im wonderful.
I dont want to argue about it - your absolutely right - I am terrific!!
No - no - really...you know best and I have to defer to your opinion - I am wonderful

Yes you are, now if you gain about 20-30 lbs, you'd be perfect!

Kimberly Dow · 10-16-2004, 08:40 PM

Jimmie-

Thank you & I will for sure look at that ear again.

Ha! You are a funny guy

Hey sure - I'd be a hot fatty, but 20-30 more and I'd have to walk sideways through my doorways, get sturdier tires on my car and better shoes....it would just be too costly