Portrait of Barbara

Mike Dodson · 05-05-2003, 09:23 PM

This is a 40" x 30" oil on canvas portrait of my wife, Barbara.

The pose was inspired by Sargent's "Lady Agnew of Lochnaw". I would appreciate your critiques of this piece. I live in an area where I have virtually no interaction with other artists so I would be very interested to know what you think.

Thanks in advance for your reviews.

Patt Legg · 05-05-2003, 10:35 PM

Mike, I am not one of the Pros here in critique so I won't even try but just had to say that I think it is a great painting and I love the way she is positioned in the chair. The blouse is done beautifully too. The lost and found edges of her hair are very well done.

Would love to see a close-up and your reference if possible. Or did you do this directly from life?

Great!

Mike Dodson · 05-05-2003, 11:55 PM

Thanks Pat for the comments. Here is the detail of the face.

Mike Dodson · 05-06-2003, 12:04 AM

Please forgive me for the glare. Still working on my photography skills (or lack of!).

Jean Kelly · 05-06-2003, 12:06 AM

Hi Mike. I think this is lovely, I certainly can't critique it. Very soft, your love shows.

Jean

Sharon Knettell · 05-06-2003, 09:00 AM

Mike,

It certainly is a lovely painting and I can't find much to critique. However the right lower lip is a problem for me, the shape and the value of the light seems too big and a tad too light. Squint at your resource and your painting side by side to see if there is a discrepancy. The mouth is always a problem area for me and sometimes it takes me days to get it right.

Sincerely,

Linda Brandon · 05-06-2003, 10:56 AM

Hi Mike,

Congratulations on a terrific painting. I think you have very good painting skills and a natural 'feel' for gesture and attitude. I like her hand so much that I wish you had gone ahead and painted the other one instead of hiding it in her pocket. What colors are on your palette, by the way?

Please feel free to jump in and critique someone else's work, it's good to share ideas and opinions.

Best wishes,
Linda

Mike Dodson · 05-06-2003, 11:20 AM

Sharon,

Thanks for the critique. I see exactly what you are refering to. I'll modify the shape/value and post the detail again. I guess portraits are paintings where there is "a little something wrong with the mouth", as Sargent would say. I seem to have more difficulty with the mouth than anything else. In most cases it's positioning rather than shape/value. Thanks again!

Linda,

I originally had the other hand painted in but the pose of the hand just looked awkward. I placed the hand in her pocket to create a more relaxed mood. It was just one of those situations where I just couldn't find a place for it.

My palette is as follows:
Burnt Umber
Burnt Sienna
Yellow Ochre
Aliz. Crimson
Cad. Red Lt.
Cad. Orange
Venetian Red
Veridian Green
Chrom. Oxide Green
French Ult. Marine Blue
Cerulean Blue
Cad.Yellow Lt.
Titanium White/Flake White

I mix Burnt Umber/Ult. Marine Blue to get black.
All colors are W/N.

Thanks Linda for the reply!