Painting of Shawn

[Vianna Szabo]

Help! I am not happy with this work in progress painting of my son, Shawn. I was experimenting with lighting and wanted an "old masters" look to the portrait.

I thought it would be interesting to use that type of lighting on a casually dressed teen. I also love the age he is at and how his hands look like puppy paws. My husband claims I made him look like Colin Powell. Any critique would be appreciated. Can this painting be saved or should it be banished to the basement with the other bad paintings?

Vianna

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

Vianna,

I really like the way you've handled the face and the shirt. They're very well done, and the background compliments them. His right hand (on our left) is also excellent, but the hands bother me because they seem outsize; also, because they're mostly in light rather than shadow, they draw the viewer's eye away from the face. From the upper surface of his left arm (to our right) to the bottom of your canvas it seems like a different painting than the top section. The slacks don't appear to join the body beneath the shirt according to usual anatomical rules; the upper surface of his right leg seems too elevated and there seems to be too much distance between the hem of his shirt and the crotch of his slacks. Check these out with your reference material and see if my comments seem to make sense in view of what you're working from. I definitely think this is a keeper, though. The elements I've mentioned are easily adjusted if you agree that they need to be.

[Michele Rushworth]

Don't give up on this one.

I do think the hand on our left looks too big, though. As you mentioned, he does have big hands given where he is in his growth spurt. You might want to double check the size.

I think you can achieve that "old masters" effect more easily with an even darker background.

[Linda Nelson]

Hi,

I think this would be a more classic painting and closer to your goal if you cropped it - It solves the issue of those red sleeves competing for attention with the face (cropped they frame it) and removes the pants and extra negative space that wasn't really contributing much.

I've shown it here with a tone "matting" - to suggest as a frame color - because, with that arm jutting off the edge now, to have a dark frame would really cut it off.

Lastly, I've "changed" the pants to look as if he's holding a hardbound book - again it's more classic, and perhaps if you can sneak some title on it you can say something about what Shawn's interests are.

Hope this is helpful food for thought.

Linda

[Vianna Szabo]

Thank you everyone for some very good advice. I agree that the hand plays too dominant a role. I also need to seriously rethink the drawing of the pants. (He favors the style of three sizes too large and almost falling down.) I think cropping is a good idea and will use it if I fail to fix it as is. His hands and feet, size 13 foot, are unusually large and is predominant feature of who he is. I really appreciate the input. I have often longed for another artist to live in my studio and stop me when I begin to "lose" my painting. Guess this is as close as it gets.

Thanks
Vianna