In the matter of color: the Hon. James T. Giles

[Claudemir Bonfim]

Wowww Garth!
What else can I say? I want to be you when I grow up.

[Julie Deane]

Gorgeous! I'm in total awe!

All that color is wonderful and shines without being overstated. The brushwork is amazing. But what shines most of all is that judge's personality - alert, calm, dignified.

Congratulations, Garth!

[Kimberly Dow]

Garth - Congratulations on yet another masterpiece! Your career and contacts are so impressive - and blows us all away. But - above all that - this is a masterful painting.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Congratulations, Garth! This is a wonderful success. Forget what I said about the red wall. You know how hard it is to get the exact effect in Photoshop that you have in your mind to translate into paint. Well, I think you have done a fantastic job with the gradations of color. Starting with the face as a reference point, the wall is redder, and the flag is brighter and redder--each step very carefully orchestrated. The interesting this is, when you come back to the face, you then notice the yellow lights in it, brought out by the yellow in the flag fringe. The funny (and very cool) thing is that the face color is the most subtle, yet it is the center of focus. I love the way you've painted the face and hands, and those little rose highlights make the skin zing.

Most important, you can really feel the personality of this man. He doesn't just look important and distinguished, he looks human.

[Linda Brandon]

This is just extraordinary, Garth, and it's hard to know what to say, other than... wow... and huge congratulations to you for this very successful portrait.

Alex always gives such terrific comments and it's hard to follow her, but may I ditto them and add that his white collar is the perfect high value spot in your setup.

I am so proud to know you!

[Richard Murdock]

Garth, that's a great piece. The atmosphere, and the personality of the judge come across so well, in addition to your display of color control.

Congrats,
Richard

[Garth Herrick]

Dear Claudemir, Julie, Kimberly, Alex, Linda, and Richard,

Thank you all so much for your very kind responses!

Julie, and Alex: Chromatically, this painting fell together like a jigsaw puzzle. Until it was complete, some passages of color looked wildly off target, and yet they weren't really in the context of the whole image. I did scream in terror about some of the colors along the way though.

Hey Alex, your favorite subject, Judge Shapiro, was there, looking as cheerful as ever! I really like her.

The colors here on the Forum can be a little quirky; I'm not sure how to get them right yet, but there is actually better distinction between the reds, and the flesh tones seem more subtle and less golden in life if one were standing in front of the painting. Part of the problem (and this may be common to all of us) is my silly camera does not discern color nuances as well as a pair of eyes. I need to make a better effort to shoot portfolio pictures too, for which I sincerely apologize. What you see here above is actually derived from this terrible shot below! I'm not kidding! That's a lot of Photoshop reconstruction above, to get the image all straightened out again. This shot below uses a different digital raw converter, with perhaps better color rendition (Bibble). I'll say in advance of posting that the colors look better.

Thanks again, with appreciation,

Garth

[David Draime]

In the matter of extraordinary talent: The Hon. Garth Herrick.

Garth....Garth....

Garth...I'm speechless. This is an amazing portrait. I think you've outdone yourself....as if any of us thought that was possible. I think what Alexandra has said is exactly what I would say - so I won't repeat it. I certainly would have been inclined to shy away from the intensity (brightness, chroma) of the background color and certainly the red in the flag, if I were painting this (my wimpy side) - I would worry that it would overpower the face as a center of interest. Yet, as Alexandra has pointed out, it is all so carefully orchestrated and considered, that the opposite is true. The exquisite subtlety - of color and modeling - and values - that describe the face (there aren't any hot, bright highlights in the face - not any of the higher contrast that we see, for instance, in the flag) is the very thing that draws our attention like a magnet. Amazing. I wouldn't have thought it possible. If the flag were even a tad brighter or more intense - I think that the balance would be lost and it wouldn't work. That you have managed to make the most quiet, most subtle area of the painting the most attention-grabbing, captivating part.... what an accomplishment. This is a work we should all be studying for a long time.

Dangit!! He raised the bar again!

[Garth Herrick]

Thanks Jane and David, now you have me feeling speechless!

Here's the essential colors that were used on my palette; of course some were more necessary than others, but I think I needed them all. The surprising thing is when colors like Burnt Umber, and Caput Mortuum appear way too light in value, out of the tube, and have to be fortified and darkened! That happened a lot in this painting.

Corresponding with the photo, first row:
1. W&N Cadmium Orange (very old)
2. Vasari Cadmium-Vermilion Red Light
3. Mussini Kadmiumrotton (no cadmium but a great replacement for cadmium red deep, and it's more versatile)
4. Old Holland Vleesoker (fortified flesh ochre)
5. Vasari Terra Rosa
6. Vasari Caput Mortuum
7. Vasari Burnt Sienna
8. Vasari Capuchine Red Deep (essential!)
9. Vasari Alizarin Crimson
10. Gamblin Dioxinine Purple (to darken the Capuchine Red Deep)
11. Vasari Ultramarine Blue ( for further darkening the above combination to black)
12. Vasari Vandyke Brown (this is really dark)
Next row:
13. Vasari Genuine Naples Yellow Light (the brightest highlight in the flag tassle at the top)
14. Vasari Tuscan Yellow (Chrome Titanate PBr-24)
15. W&N Indian Yellow
16. Vasari Naples Orange (Chrome Titanate PBr-24)
17. Vasari Capuchine Red Light
18. Vasari Brown Ochre Light
19. Vasari Burnt Umber
20. Norma Raw Umber Greenish
21.W&N Sap Green
22. Blockx Cadmium Green Pale
23. Vasari Ivory Black
Bottom row:
24. Vasari Flake White
25. Vasari King's Blue Light
26. Gamblin Indanthrone Blue
27. Vasari Cerulean Blue
28. Blockx Turquoise Green.

Hope this helps!

Garth