Whitaker's waltz with Giselle

Jean Kelly · 06-05-2003, 04:54 PM

Hi, everyone.

I was very impressed with the work after Bill Whitaker's workshop and your descriptions of the process. So I decided to try it myself.

I've taken a break from people and have been painting some animals (fun), but it's time to get back to work now. This is Giselle, my portfolio piece of the perennial "little girl in the white dress". It's 36" x 24", oil on toned canvas. This is the first time I toned a canvas first and now wish I had done it sooner! Please act as my guides as I muddle through.

Thanks,
Jean

Jean Kelly · 06-05-2003, 05:03 PM

This is her ref picture. I've changed her clothing to a dress I made up. I have a wall of fabric left from my former career (pro quilting) and have used my leftovers to create the drape that I want. Will be reflecting the violets and greens on to the fabric by using the fabric I have on hand. We'll see how this works.

I took the background from one of our trips into the country. Lighting was the same, and I won't be copying the photo anyway. Will try to keep my palette under control, and hopefully use everything I've learned here so far. Plus incorporate "the waltz". Thanks for looking.

Jean

Michele Rushworth · 06-06-2003, 10:06 AM

Great start, Jean! I love that background tone. What color(s) is it?

I would highly recommend that you not do a "made up" dress from your imagination, however. It's tremendously difficult to paint something even when you have a precise photo of the exact garment right in front of you, in the correct outdoor lighting, etc. It's virtually impossible to make it up convincingly. Perhaps an expert far more advanced than I am could do it, but I would never attempt it! You've tackled a mountain very few artists could climb.

Jean Kelly · 06-06-2003, 05:33 PM

Hi Michele,

I'm not working from a detailed picture, I'm working with the actual fabric. In my "former life" I was a tailor, designer, learned to sew at 7 years old. By 14, I had decided to become a real fashion designer. My mother did tailoring for the Ringling family (circus). I've draped the fabric into the shape of the dress on a form, I have violet and green fabric, (every shade under the rainbow) to use as a model for reflected light. So it should work. I also used the basic shirt pattern she is wearing for the top of the dress.

The colors I used to tone the background are Terra Rosa, Napthol red, and ultramarine blue. Brian Koetz had suggested that I try a warm red/brown as the color for toning (in my self portrait), so I decided to try it. I like it.

I'm also using a palette knife to apply much of the paint, then scraping, and applying another color and repeating the process. So many techniques, so little time..

This waltz is very different for me, its keeping me back from the painting and less detailed. Very different for a nitpicker like me!

Jean

Michele Rushworth · 06-06-2003, 06:42 PM

Having the actual fabric hanging in front of you, and having other colors around it to create the right shadows seems like a good idea.

I look forward to seeing how it turns out!

Mai Ly · 06-06-2003, 10:05 PM

This sounds very interesting. And, the girl is so cute.

I have not tried changing a subject's clothes before, but often done so with the background. The painting looks great so far. I can't wait to see the painting as it progresses.

Mai

Jean Kelly · 06-08-2003, 01:04 PM

Hi Mai, Thank you for your interest. Here's the progress. Michelle, if something starts to look off, please comment. I think I'm going to leave this fairly loose.

Jean

Jean Kelly · 06-08-2003, 01:12 PM

I have work to do on the eyes, and will be softening some transitions and finishing the mouth and teeth. There is some funny texture going on with the photo, it's rainy and grey here today, and the paint is still very wet. I must have some strange reflections going on. The actual painting has texture, but not the same as photo.

Jean

Michele Rushworth · 06-08-2003, 06:42 PM

I like the soft looseness in her hair and I like the range of temperatures in the skintones. Here are a few things you might want to change:

In the photo she has a slightly cross-eyed look which I would correct in the painting. Also the value transitions on the right side of the neck are too strong, as are the saturated rosy areas of her lower cheeks. I would tone those areas down more.

Leslie Ficcaglia · 06-08-2003, 07:41 PM

Jean, I once changed an outfit. I was trying to take photos for a demo and the child I planned to use wasn't giving me the expressions I wanted so I switched to her younger sister, who was wearing a gray sweatshirt. I used a catalogue of children's clothing and found a model in roughly the same pose, so it worked fairly well.

I like the pose and the loose painterly look you have going there, but the child in your portrait looks older than your reference photo model. I think the forehead needs to be higher and there should be more hair at the top of the head, but also the cheeks in the painting aren't as full as the model's and the chin and jaw are perhaps a little too prominent. A child's jaw is softer, rounder, and less developed. But possibly you're not interested in the age but more in the look.