No. 3

[Ngaire Winwood]

Hi all,
It is time for me to come out as a student and be courageous of receiving critiques for my work. This is an ex-school buddy of my son - Sapphira - 16 x 20 oil on panel. There were several sittings at my home and this resource photo to work from. (Sorry for the glare - fired the photographer). Thanks for any suggestions - greatly appreciated.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Ngaire,

I'm so gld you are posting this! There are so many nice things about this painting, especially the way you put feeling into your description of who she is. It's indefinable, but many portraits lack this quality.

Many part of the modeling are sound, but you should check the shape of the lit edge and the proportions of her face in general from the hand upwards. The space from the tip of her nose to her eyes appears to be slightly too long, and the set of her eyes is slightly off. Try squinting or checking both in a mirror, moving your eyes rapidly back and forth between the painting and the reference photo.

Another place that stands out is the negative space, the triangle formed inside her bent arm. Her upper arm is too far down.

Her eyes have far too much value contrast and the whites of her eyes are too cool and too light. As a result, her eyes do not "sit" comfortably in their sockets! Instead of fussing with them, try painting them over when you adjust the proportions, with just the minimum of detail and value change. You might find that you won't have to go too far with the detail if everything else (value, drawing) is correct.

Another important issue is light as expressed by color. Obviously in the photo the lights are lighter than they should be, but it is important to try to reproduce the luminosity of the photo. I think the color of the blue top in the light is great, but the skin is too dull. There are colors in there that you are not seeing. Look again at the lit side of the chek, the forehead and nose, and the top pf the raised hand. Again, don't just go lighter. Try reproducing the colors you see. In the hair, also, there are some light blues and lavender at the top, then pale ochre/browns as the hair turns down the side of her cheek. Pay attention to the exact shapes of these color notes and put them in. Make yourself think of them as abstract shapes--then step back and see if they create the illusion. If they do, leave the brushstrokes alone. Remember, if the lights are cool, the shadows must appear warmer if you want to achieve depth and transparency Your darks in the hair apear too cool and therefore opaque.

Some of the things I'm seeing might be a result of the limitations of your photo, and if they are, you can just skip over them.

.

[Ngaire Winwood]

Thanks heaps Alex for your reply, I will re-read it again to understand what you saw for me. It is so much different seeing the painting with the photo underneath each other here on the forum, I can see so much more with them together. It is a shame I didn't have this set up when I was working on her.

The funny thing is, I only had a B & W A4 photo of this to work from (I ran out of colour inks for the printer and didn't even think of getting a copy done at a shop), so I had terrible trouble seeing her visually other than the sittings which were different positions each time she sat for me. I didn't copy the position in the photo because of the problem with each sitting. I am starting to realise how difficult it is to get the model to get into the position each time, there was always an angle problem with her pose, different lighting on cloudy to sunny days etc. I didn't realise just how many variables changes colour, value and pose.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Ngaire,

It is fine that you didn't have the photo right there while you were working. I like the fact that you did a lot from live sittings. It probably explains the direct, feelingful quality in this work.

Instead of worrying about achieving an exact likeness, I would concentrate more on the values, color, and feeling of light. A lot of people can achieve likeness, especially with the help of visual aids, but fewer people understand how to make a work of art. The important thing is, overall, to keep in mind your original idea, and stay true to it. What did you want to say about her? The question doesn't have to be answered in words, but you should try to stay close to what you envisioned. Just making that effort, even if it is only partially successful, will be a big step.

[Ngaire Winwood]

Alex, how do I sit the eye into the socket and warm the eye as you suggested, could you please explain it more for me please.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Ngaire, first of all don't think of it as an eye, just as some colors in a certain spot. See how similar the color and value of the white of her eye is to the skin at that point. Can you see how you have exaggerated the value contrast, making the eye too light?

First, paint out the eye completely, using flesh color. Then make a "bed" for the eye by painting the color variations around it. Don't get detailed. try to place the eye accurately by putting in the exact shade of grey--not too far from the skin tone.

I use complementary colors to mix greys. One example is cad orange + ultramarine blue, or cad yellow deep + ultramarine blue. Each makes a slightly different grey. cad yellow + ultramarine violet is also nice. You can mix shades of red in with this mixture to create shadowy skin tones. (Adding white will bring up the value.) Without the red, the grey itself (with maybe a little skintone mixed in from painting wet-into-wet) plus a little white will give you the right value and color for the eye. Some people really like this method but some find it hard to control. You can also mix Ultramarine with just a little of the orange into the hair color (brown/black)in shadow. The more orange you add, the warmer it will be. You also need the cool component to make it shadowy. Watch the catch lights in the eye--don't make them too light and prominent. All the values, even the shine, are much closer together.

Everything has a warm and cool component--it is the balance of warm and cool that we can adjust. You might prefer a completely diferent way of mixing colors. Everyone's got their own way. Some pople like raw umber mixed with different colors. You can experiment!

[Ngaire Winwood]

Alex
Thanks. After reading your explanation I could kick myself. Why? I nearly did what you suggested, I did paint the eye in with a skin tone and then thought it was too dull, so I went over it with a greyed blue/white, that was too bright so I added the flesh again to what it is now. I should have put more flesh into it. I will try to make the same colour of flesh again and work on it, although I am hesitant because if I don't get the exact colour I will need to rework the whole face again.

[Linda Brandon]

Originally Posted by Ngaire Winwood

I am starting to realise how difficult it is to get the model to get into the position each time, there was always an angle problem with her pose, different lighting on cloudy to sunny days etc. I didn't realise just how many variables changes colour, value and pose.

Hi Ngaire,

When you want to start working from live models in repeat sittings, in my opinion the easiest way to set this up is to have her/him face you in a full face position in the same chair a few feet from the same window at the same time of the day. (Put a piece of tape on the floor so that you can get yourself back in the same spot, too.) Get a good shadow pattern on the face. Take a look at that full face view and make sure you can see both ears (pull hair back if you need to) and make sure there is no tilt (hold up a knitting needle and line up the outer corners of the eyes so that they are horizontal). Anything else you add - a tilt, a rotation, a hand - just makes it harder for both you and the model to find it again during the next session. Make things really easy on yourself at first and you can work up to three-quarter face and profile poses later. You've picked a pretty tricky three-quarter pose here. I really admire your courage and your perserverance.

Alex is giving you good advice (I think I will run all my work past her, too!) The only thing I would add is to squint down and see if you can lose detail and edges in the shadow side. Keep posting these!

[Ngaire Winwood]

Linda,
Thanks heaps for your sound comments. Yes I didn't realise it would be a tricky pose until I was knee deep in it. I just like the composition for her personality. I have certainly learnt a lot and I will definitely try to make it easier on myself the next time. I found it hard to organise model and day weather to be compatible for artwork, this certainly was an eye opener for me.

I will have a better set up next time.

Alex,
I have greyed down the eyes, shoulder, and jaw (in shadow), it seems to have made a difference, I think with the focus back on her eyes again. Also blue/lavender in the hair for highlights. I hope the changes I made passes your scrutiny.

[Mischa Milosevic]

Ngaire, you have received some excellent advice already but I cannot help but feel your struggle. We all know that oil can be quite forgiving and keeping that in mind I will make a suggestion or two. First, you face in shadow re-paint one tone say the darkest tone on her face. I would paint the eye as well being that to put the eye back in would be a brush stroke of dark and light gray. Then I would do the same for all the lights the cheek in light, the hand in light, the arm in light, the forehead in light. You will notice from your reference that the had and the arm in light are the lightest, then the face and the darkest light the forehead. The chest in light is approximately the same value as the forehead. Remember no eyes just the three values plus the darkest which is the hair. Now, we should not forget the window, the wall and the other props. They as well have their place and most important value of tone.

So, at the moment you have a drawing, now you are adjusting the values in the desired hue/color. At the same time you can create the form. Adjust these until you get them perfect. Don't be afraid to get the hand in light as light as white if need be for if all the other values balance and hold their place it will look ok. Look at the photo, it looks ok doesn't it.

I have made some visual suggestions, I hope you do not mind.