Expectant Mother
 

I am going to post several different shots here of my friend. This is my first time photographing purposely for a painting (besides landscapes). My references have always been given to me or snap shots. This is not a commission. I have tried to utilize tips I have read here.

My concerns are as follows:

1. Her eyes are looking down, but on the monitor, unless enlarged, they look closed.

2. I am torn as to where to crop on the belly, so I will post 2 different crops.

3. I want to get rid of the fence and do a painterly background of greenery, but will that look strange since I am not showing she is on a porch, as if to ask why isn't she in sunlight like the greenery behind her?

4. The one I will post taken inside with natural light coming throught the window I like, but not how her hair darkens at the top of her head. Plus, the wall colors are hideous - how would I change this & keep yet keep it similar.

These are cropped tightly to show the details, I will add more space around her when I paint. Any help would be appreciated. Feel free to digitally manipulate them.

Thank you!

Let's see if it works this time!

Ok, different height on the crop of her belly. I can go down farther, but I can't post that since her panties show and she would never forgive me. If I did go lower I could pull the fabric over the panties.

Sorry, here it is.

Close up of face.

Here is one of the interior shots.

Kim, I like the color better on the inside shots. The outside ones are the same temp. and there's a core shadow that's pretty hard to handle. I'm not sure the bare belly is needed, the form would say it all. The belly rather competes with the face and hands for attention for me. I think less may be more.

Outside, try to block reflected light and establish stronger shadows. The greens and background are pretty much moot I think.

Kimberly,

I totally agree with Tim on the outside pictures concerning temperature. I also think that the background is way too busy.

The interior photograph I like: a) the dark shadow on her hair that is hanging down provides a nice contrast to her face b) abstract colors in the background c) like the drapery, it works well with the background.

I don't like, as Tim stated, the belly showing. Could you take another photo (same lighting, pose) but have her belly covered with the drapery and have her hands positioned resting on her belly? This would certainly remove any doubt that she is an expectant mother.

My favorite would be the image below, cropped as shown. The subject, lighting, pose and background (minus the house) are lovely.

Showing her belly, bare or not, wouldn't be something that would be likely to get you a lot of commissions as a traditional portrait artist, unless you really wanted to do a series of commissions of pregnant women. People will commission you to create the types of paintings shown in your portfolio.

This image would make a beautiful painting but that's not necessarily the same thing as creating a successful portfolio sample.

The types of things you see in the portfolios on SOG of the long-time pros are more universal and generic in nature. The people depicted in them are fairly standard types designed to appeal to the widest possible audience.

If you already had a portfolio of a dozen terrific samples of traditional subjects in traditional poses, I'd say, go for it. Otherwise I wouldn't use a painting of a preganat woman with a very prominent belly as one of your first pieces in which you were working from a well lighted, well composed reference photo.

Tim & Mike,

Thank you for the input.

OK, I will try the interior shot again tomorrow with the belly covered. Subtlety, I guess I need to learn that. It does not come naturally I'm afraid.

How would I block the reflected light outside and create deeper shadows? To our left is concrete and a pool - a large sheet hung on that side of the porch?

Michele,

Thank you. I do not know what this painting is for. I guess I would have to say that I am just trying to create a beautiful painting. I wasn't considering my portfolio when I had the idea to paint her.

I like the outside ones better, because of that fabric, I think. Thinking about temperature and all the other details is new to me. I am assuming Tim and Mike are saying I need to have a clear difference between the warm lit side of her and the cool shadowed side. I do not know if I can do that on that porch.

I disagree with the advice not to show her belly. Without the belly, she just reads as "fleshy". (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

I recently exhibited at an art show a painting of a pregnant woman in profile, nude except for a sheet wrapped around her waist. In every way it was similar to many other nudes at the show, except, of course, for the fact that she was pregnant. I had two men tell me that the painting was improper and that I should take it down. (I told them to quit looking at it if it bothered them.) Meanwhile, I had four young women seek me out (two were pushing strollers) and tell me that they were thrilled to see that an artist found a pregnant woman beautiful.

Would I put put this subject on a portrait website? Probably not. Will painting this subject get you portrait commissions? Again, probably not, but you should paint it anyway if you are moved to do so. Keep it around your studio if it turns out well. You never know who will seek you out. Things might "fly" in the West that wouldn't in the South or the East.

Personally, I am asked to paint many subjects that don't make it onto my portrait website. I feel that they help me grow as an artist.

Don't lose your Texan enthusiasm.

Best wishes,
Linda

Your friend seems pretty gutsy. You should ask her to do this portrait as a nude. She just might like the idea. Of course, you couldn't post the results here for critique (forum policy), but it could make a satisfying painting.

Go to the library and get a copy of Richard Schmid Paints the Figure. Many of the nudes in this book were so tastefully modest that my wife volunteered to pose for a nude after seeing the book.

Could make an excellent non-traditional portrait.

I like Michele's post, and agree with the others regarding the bare belly. The suggestion of the belly would be just as effective.

I like the position of the head in the outdoor shot. The indoor head position is not very flattering around her chin. The outside pose shows her to be much more attractive.

What kind of camera and film are you using?

I always like to see what the image looks like without the background noise, reduce it to it's simplist form, for reference sake. Here's another rendition to complicate your mission.

I think you're doing pretty good for your first attempt!

Oops. Linda and I were posting at the same time. Great minds think alike.

To clarify, I'd paint her nude or clothed. For me, the belly hanging out of the cloth is a bit exhibitionistic ... shades of (forgive me here) Odd Nerdrum.

Ann Ghetts (?) has done some neat clothed shots of expectant mothers that are most clearly expectant, not fleshy. You'll manage. Outside place a cool cloth around the figure (on the shadow side) to block the warm light rays. Leave the light source alone.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I will take more traditional poses of others for my portfolio, I started with this one as my first experiment because I wanted to get her while she was pregnant and she is due very soon.

Linda,

"YeeeHaww" Can I see that nude you did of the pregnant woman? Email? I agree with the fact that I want to show the belly. That is the whole purpose of this painting for me. Her hands and face are secondary to me. Except, I like the kind of proud look she has on her face with the outside one. I guess I do not know exactly what I want. I am drawn to more ?bold looks I think. She does not necessarily want her face to be instantly recognizable. Not sure what to do about that yet. I am actually not a Texan. Im a Yankee, please keep that quiet to the people down here, they would run me out of town. The South is more conservative than the North, I think anyway. So, it definatly has to be a painting because I want to do it, and that's it.

Jeff,

Already asked her to pose nude. If she did not trust me she would not have shown this much.

Mike,

I am going to reshoot her (if the baby holds off til Friday) to try and be more subtle. I want a painting that says; "Here I am, yah, I'm pregnant, but I'm beautiful." If I can do that and be less startling with the poking out belly I will. I am using a cheap Fuji digital camera. I messed with the options so quickly because I didn't want her to get tired that I still do not know which settings worked. I can see which photos did, but I do not know which ones were taken with which settings. I need to practice on the family and figure that out.

Tim,

Thanks, I think I got the outside lighting tip now. I misunderstood reflected light. I was thinking of the pool reflecting towards her. Ok, Odd Nerdrum! How can you say that? His are dark are disturbing (to me anyway). She is soft and beautiful (to me anyway). The belly is startling in the way it does jump out at you, I agree. I cannot see the comparison except she has some extra skin showing. I am not being argumentative here, I actually want to know.

I think I may read things differently then-the-average-bear booboo because I clearly didn't foresee "Jake" being scary. If I am going to get serious I need to see paintings like most see them. It doesn't mean I wont paint the occasional 'different' one, because I truly like those better, but I need to be able to anticipate people's reactions if I am going to paint what people want for their portraits.

And yes, Michele I have been checking out the SOG painters and seeing the theme with the more classical poses. I guess I am trying to figure out where the line is drawn. When does it cross over to 'different' or 'unusual'. I know where it is for me personally, just not the general art-purchasing public.

Uh, sorry for the above novel. Way too much caffeine & eager enthusiam for all I am picking up here.

I think this is indeed a beautiful subject (both her face and her belly) and I look forward to seeing it posted here sometime when the painting is finished. As I mentioned, it's probably not a portrait artist portfolio piece but will make a lovely painting for its own sake. Have fun!

Thanks Michele!

A nude would be beautiful, like Demi Moore once stood on the cover of Vanity Fair. (Use these words in the Google image search to see: demi moore vanity fair).

I would prefer to see her bare belly, as in the first photographs. If you want to cover the belly, maybe it's an idea to put her other hand (which we don't see now) on her belly, so there is some kind of contact between mother and unborn child suggested. Just a thought...

Success!

Peter

I actually think Oddie can paint. I know he is at least weird-at worst, well...

I think delicacy is good. I love how expectant women look, very lovely. I just think you don't want to draw a red (or green) arrow to the belly, which is precisely what the cloth did in the one shot. Lines and edges want to be normally soft, so when you wish to punch up a thing you can use your hard edges powerfully.