Which Man is My Favorite

Elizabeth Schott · 10-24-2002, 12:57 PM

Assorted soft pastel on Wallis sanded paper, 24" x 18".

I am very happy with this one, but figured you guys, as always, would make it even better.

So - which man is my favorite in this?

Elizabeth Schott · 10-24-2002, 12:59 PM

This is the detail of Tom:

Elizabeth Schott · 10-24-2002, 01:01 PM

This is the detail of Moe

:

Elizabeth Schott · 10-24-2002, 01:04 PM

After reading all the reference photo discusion, I decided to leave this one out. I think it stands on its own merit.

Hanna Larsson · 10-29-2002, 07:55 AM

I think this is a very beautiful portrait. The look of Tom is very intense, he just won

Elizabeth Schott · 10-29-2002, 08:51 AM

Thank you Hanna, I think that is a good suggestion. The warm light on his left was from the woodwork/wall treatments in his study that are not shown.

Tom is concerned about the reflective light on the back of his right shoulder too. He thinks it's too reddish. I thought it was right.

Of course the dog has not complained at all.

Mike McCarty · 10-29-2002, 10:18 AM

Beth,

My one suggestion would be regarding the subject's left hand. I think your edges are too hard. You might keep a couple of finger tips on top of the fur and allow a slight separation between them. But mostly it's about the hard edges of the hand and fingers against the pooch.

Elizabeth Schott · 10-29-2002, 10:24 AM

Mike, do you think I could bring more of the fur into the fingers? Edges are a struggle for me. He was "scratch" petting him so that is the shape of his hand. Maybe if I bring some fur over them it will look better.

Can you expand on what you meant? Thanks.

Mike McCarty · 10-29-2002, 11:34 AM

Beth,

I kind of thought he had the tips of his fingers down in the fur. But it's not just that, on the underside of the hand the edge is very sharp as well as on the top. You just have to integrate the two different values where they meet. When one value meets another, and it's not just where different things/objects/stuff meet, there is transition, not abruptness. This can happen in the middle of person's cheek or arm. Any sharp line will distract (or rightfully attract) the eye of the viewer and can cause confusion and fatigue with the subject.

When a photographer takes a portrait picture of a person he selects a depth of field by use of the cameras lens aperture (f-stop). The decision is made to bring into focus the subject of the portrait and not the tree in the background. The choice is made and the picture is then about the person and not the tree through the use of "controlled edges." The blurring of the tree is just a way of producing (painting) soft edges of those things that are not central to the story that you have chosen to tell. This can also happen on the (almost) single plane of your painting. You manipulate edges to direct the viewer's primary gaze. If you don't control it, it becomes just a willy nilly visual affair.

In my opinion this is the greatest bang for your buck in painting. It is the easiest thing to execute and it has the greatest impact on your painting. Pick out the paintings that you like on this Forum and look at the edges.

Elizabeth Schott · 11-02-2002, 11:03 PM

Here are the changes, thank you so much for all your help!