One-year-old girl

Chuck Yokota · 06-28-2006, 07:59 PM

Alexandra, Sharon, and Richard,

Thank you for your critiques. I see from my reference that she did have her chin slightly tucked, which I did not show in the portrait. She was very active; with both her parents trying to hold her, she was a blur in most of the photos. I will need to understand color harmony better.

Here is the reference.

Michele Rushworth · 06-29-2006, 04:55 PM

I wouldn't paint from this photo, mostly because the mouth is a blur and trying to guess what it would look like will be impossible.

Chuck Yokota · 06-30-2006, 08:48 AM

Michelle,

Thank you for your good advice. I wish I did have a better reference. I took well over a hundred photos, and this was by far the best of the lot. I don't have enough windows to make the room light enough to use a fast shutter speed. With a child this active, it really was a problem.

Alexandra Tyng · 06-30-2006, 09:48 AM

Chuck, you could always take 100 more! If your space doesn't have enough light, maybe the clients' home does. Instead of making do with less than optimal conditions, it is important to create optimal conditions before you even pick up a brush. I am thinking of your hard work and precious time.

Michele Rushworth · 06-30-2006, 11:37 AM

Some subjects are just the wrong age to be painted, also. I know artists who won't paint a child under the age of 4 because they're often too wiggly.

Sharon Knettell · 07-02-2006, 12:59 PM

Chuck,

There is more than a wealth of infomation on this site adressing every problem you have encountered.

If you notice the heading of this Forum you will realize that it stipulates that it is a "Forum for Professional Portrait Painters and Serious Students.
It disturbs me that you have ignored time consuming advice from well meaning professional and continue to consitently repeat the same errors.

If you ARE serious about this field and not simply a Sunday painter I would suggest you take the time to enter a course of study of form in monochrome before you even consider tackling something as difficult as a head. I would spend several years of study before you attempt color. Also I would suggest you take as much figure drawing as you can.

There is also a wealth of information on taking good pictures which you also have ignored.

If you aren't willing to put in the hard work, there is little the Forum can do for you.

Marcus Lim · 07-03-2006, 01:26 AM

We have learnt much through history, and from other people's lives that people learn at a different pace. Our most memorable character is Einstein himself, whom we've come to know that he was deemed "an idiot" when he was in school as a child.

But that has never stopped him. And certainly we can believe at some point in his life, there are people who continued to inspire him to try, and try again. Perhaps even to critique his thoughts. And since then, the rest is history.

When i first came to Portrait Forum, i felt like i was "an idiot" myself, among the great artists that i never dreamt i'll be "rubbing words" (read: rubbing shoulders) with. But with everyone's grace and patience, i started to grow beyond what i have imagined. And that encouraged me to put up my best works under the "Unveilings" section a couple of times - most of the time under the "Critiques" section.

While Sharon has highlighted this forum as one "for professionals and serious students", i see Chuck has taken his efforts little by little to become who he is. In fact, everyone is committed to contributing to this forum here, are "serious students".

So if Portrait Artist Forum is a place where people seek inspiration, encouragement and learning, isn't it more the case for Chuck and others who are slower in learning? That we become each other's "rays of hope" and pushing to excel in our work?

I certainly would like us to ponder on our purpose here in the Critique Section, as well as what we're doing here in the Forum itself. Or have we forgotten why we're here in the first place?