Commission-WIP - Page 3

Joan Breckwoldt · 05-14-2004, 08:06 PM

Garth, sorry about bat. Next tim I'll use spelchick.

Joan

Barbara Mae Hudson · 05-16-2004, 08:35 AM

Hello all!

I really don't know what has happened to two of the posts?? I know that there was a post from Leslie Ficcaglia because I printed her post out. Now it doesn't appear in the posts at all! Also in the forum it displays that Joan Breckwoldt has posted, and it isn't there either?? Can anybody help me on this one? I really would like to see what Joan has to say.

Anyway, it has been back on the easel and I have followed up on all of the advice that I have been given...........here is how it looks now, I know that it is still far from perfect, but considering the source photo it maybe the best that I can come up with.

My sincere thanks to everyone for helping me out on this difficult portrait.

Barbara

Leslie Ficcaglia · 05-16-2004, 09:03 AM

Barbara, my original post is right there on the first page; I guess the entire thread doesn't get quoted on the reply-to-topic page, though.

Anyway, I think you've done a great job. The issue with the shoulder is much improved and her face is softer with a more appealing smile now. Congratulations!

Let us know how the clients like it, but in my experience they're not nearly as picky as we are.

Leslie

Garth Herrick · 05-16-2004, 11:08 AM

Hi Barbara,

I can see you have done quite a lot on this painting and it does look much better. I don't like your new brown background which is effectively competing as a foreground against your portrait subjects. The background brown is more strident and chromatically intense than any brown in either of the two kids. For example, the boy's brown stripe shirt should not appear to recede behind the background. I would kill the intensity of this brown with a velatura like I have described in the thread on my painting Apotheoun (page 4) http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=4136. It does not need to be much, a little goes a long way. You just want the background to be more atmospheric in perspective. It can be brown, but it has to be a quality of brown that relates well to everything else.

Hope this helps,

Garth

Garth Herrick · 05-16-2004, 12:32 PM

Barbara, I just expanded my explaination of a velatura, after I noticed you were already looking at it (just a couple of more sentences to help clarify things).

Henry Wienhold · 05-17-2004, 12:01 AM

Barbara the dark background is a good improvement and the shoulder is not as obvious as before. To me the whole composition looks more unified and complete. I think you've done a good job with the improvements that you have made here, but I have to agree with Garth. You might want to add some light into your background in places making it a little less solid in appearance creating a more atmospheric look to the composition, but keep it darker in value by that shoulder area, Good job!

Henry

Barbara Mae Hudson · 05-17-2004, 01:23 AM

Dear Garth,

Thank you again for all your help on this. I visited your thread 'Tom at Eleven', and I can only say.............. WOW! Words are not enough, I love it.

I will now go and investigate into VELATURA, it's one that I've never heard of before.

Thanks again.

Take care,

Barbara

Barbara Mae Hudson · 05-17-2004, 01:28 AM

Dear Henry,

Yes Henry, you are right and I will make the changes in the next few days. I haven't looked into 'Velatura' yet, but intend to.

Thank you very much for looking and your advice, it is much appreciated.

Take care,

Barbara.

Garth Herrick · 05-17-2004, 02:13 AM

Barbara, I was too lazy before to copy the text from my Apotheoun thread, but now I have. This was from reply number 31, on page 4. http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=4136

Garth

velatura

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michele Rushworth
Garth, what's a "velatura"? And how would you say that was different from a glaze or a scumble? Thanks!

Hi Michele:

My understanding of a velatura or my understanding of a scumble may vary from others in this forum, because I have seen a number of posts that seem to lump the two together as the same technique. I do not have an art dictionary in front of me to back me up, but here is what I think I was taught at PAFA: We all know what a glaze is, usually a somewhat transparent thinned pigment in more medium overlaying a lighter underpainting layer. For me a velatura is treated the same way, except that it is a translucent lighter colored pigment suspended in medium over a darker underpainting layer. Velatura is equated as a "veil", putting an atmospheric haze over the painting. There will be a cooler color temperature shift, varying in degree according to how thick the veil is. One can think of it as the same effect as flakes of cereal in a bowl of milk; the brown flakes suddenly appear blueish as they dip below the milk.

Using only white in a velatura may make the painting more blue than you need. It is amazing to see how one can use a light orange tint (as an extreme warm example) over a darker brown, both being very warm colors, and acheive a sort of cool optical gray effect when covering the darkest values (actually, if the orange is intense enough it will effectively be a cooler chromatic yellow). If this veil is thicker, then it will be more orange than gray. Over white, of course this velatura would then be like an orange glaze. I am not really advocating the use of "orange" in a typical velatura. This is an extreme example, and there are a whole range of subtle possibilities in between. A velatura just may need to be formulated warmer than your target color you are looking for. If a painting becomes too dark and too warm, in its color effect (like mine sometimes do), or the contrast is too strong and jumpy (or too photographic), then a velatura may be the remedy.

For me a scumble can have a similar effect as a velatura, but I think of a scumble as a drier, more opaque consistency of paint being dragged over the texture of the canvas.

Hope this helps!
__________________
Garth Herrick

Barbara Mae Hudson · 05-17-2004, 07:51 AM

[QUOTE=Garth Herrick]Hi Barbara,

I can see you have done quite a lot on this painting and it does look much better. I don't like your new brown background which is effectively competing as a foreground against your portrait subjects. The background brown is more strident and chromatically intense than any brown in either of the two kids. For example, the boy's brown stripe shirt should not appear to recede behind the background. I would kill the intensity of this brown with a velatura like I have described in the thread on my painting Apotheoun (page 4) http://forum.portraitartist.com/showthread.php?t=4136. It does not need to be much, a little goes a long way. You just want the background to be more atmospheric in perspective. It can be brown, but it has to be a quality of brown that relates well to everything else.

Hello again Garth,

I looked right through the above thread and yes, it was mentioned in it, but no explanation of what Velatura is. I put my google search engine to work on it and it came up with a lot of sites.........in Italian! The ones that were in English talked about enamel and varnishes which was not much help to me I'm afraid.

Would you be so good as to explain to me what Velatura is? I made a guess after reading your thread that it was maybe a milky scumble, but as my guesses are usually way off the mark I thought that I would check with you.

Thanks again for all your help.

Barbara