Seaside Portrait of Young Boy
 

Hello,

I would really appreciate a critique of this painting. This is my first full scale commissioned oil portrait. It measures 36

Detail of Seaside Portrait
 

Here is a close-up of the head and shoulders from the "Seaside Portrait of Young Boy" posted earlier.

Thank you,
Lara Cannon

Here's my little bit
 

Hi -

I'm a newbie here, and almost don't dare comment, but I'll share my two cents.

First of all, as the close-up came into view, I sat admiring the soft gradations of the hair on the top of the head. There's some nice modeling in this painting. And the drawing looks really good to me.

The things that disturb me are 1) the lips look like they have lipstick on them, they are so perfectly symmetrical and red 2) the bowl cut looks so severe -- is it really that hard and dark at the bottom? 3) the eyes look like they have been outlined in black -- could be the image sent to the screen, but they seem awfully dark.

What kind of linen did you use? And how much priming? Just curious, because you have achieved such a nice effect of softness that doesn't appear to show the linen texture, which I don't care for. Is your paint thin or thickly applied?

Anyway, there are a lot of wonderful things going on in your painting, and I bet your client will be pleased.

Reply
 

Thank you Julie for your comments.

I used a portrait grade linen that I ordered double oil primed from New York Central Art Supply (1-800-950-6111). They stretched the canvas for me as well. The surface was great to work on. I don't have the name handy, but I think I asked for their finest grade and that is what I got.

The lips really are too red. They are not quite sooo red in the painting but now that you mention it, I see they real did need more toning down. I guess I got so caught up in the expression I wasn't paying attention to the color.

The haircut is actually softer than the real thing. I did my best to soften a very severe bowl-cut, but perhaps a little more artistic license would have improved it! Ah well, next time.

Thanks again,
Lara

Hello again, Lara,

Just a note or two for now.

You

P.S. The more "atmospheric, painterly" look is something I'm interested in, too, so I'm looking forward to replies from those who are willing to offer practical advices. (I could just say "Paint it like you feel it", but I'll bet you'd feel a little let down by that effort.)

Reply to Steven
 

Steven,

That was so helpful. I have been looking at the painting for so long I am afraid I stopped seeing details like his eyes being oblong or that they are lit from different directions. I wish I could make some corrections but it is already framed and gone. I am working on the 2nd piece and I will definitely add some "zipping" with the sky in the sweater...all were great suggestions! Maybe the hard edges are the missing link to the feeling of atmosphere?

Many thanks for your time and help today,
Lara

Hello Lara,

Let me say first of all I think this is a lovely painting and I think that the clients are thrilled to pieces with it. Your problems are "please the artist" problems, not "please the client" problems.

Regarding atmosphere: I suggest you wander through the SOG site and take a good hard look at artists who regularly paint outdoor portraits and see how they handle the backgrounds. (I have a few favorites but I hestitate to name them here for fear of annoying other artists.)

I'm freshly returned from Peggy Baumgaertner's portrait seminar in California and one of her many worthwhile sayings was this: "The outdoor portrait is about the light; the indoor portrait is about the subject." What you want to do in this painting is capture the feeling of humid (near the water, right?) and coolish (evidenced by sweater) air and overcast sky. You have to try and make the viewer feel those weather conditions. I'd blur and neutralize those edges of the dock and purposely exaggerate atmospheric perspective in order to make my point.

I had to look twice at the boy's legs to figure out what was going on there. You've got to really make clear (change value or color) that one is behind the other.

I think your composition is unbalanced and the whole painting leans to the right. If this were my painting I'd put more rocks in on the left, behind his body. I'd play with rock placement to move the eye around the painting, ending up at the boy's head.

Hope this helps, and please keep posting.

Wow. Linda, those were excellent comments. I have nothing to add other than that, sorry, but I just wanted to give a here, here.

Lara, I think you've done very well using photos. I think much is right. But I can tell it's done with photos. The edges are the strongest place where I note that. If one uses photos one ought to do lots of work from life.

Lara, I've just re-read these posts and I think I sound a little peevish. If you had posted this over in "Unveilings" you would have received lots and lots of "well dones". This really is very lovely and it's hard to believe it's your first full-scale oil commission. I'm looking forward to seeing many more of your paintings.

Reply
 

Thank you Linda and Steven for the helpful & constructive comments. I am returning back to work with some new directions and ideas. This is a such great resource. I am thrilled to be getting critiques from such qualified artists.

I agree with Linda. This is a fine piece. Only other artists would have made the comments that are made in these critiques, because we're always looking for ways to improve. I agree that de-emphasizing the dock would help draw focus on the subject, but if you left it as-is, it would still be a strong painting.

This is a delightful piece that needs to be showcased in your portfolio. Be sure to post the other one.

I like the rocks!!

Yes, we're all very fussy, and a bit crabby sometimes. It's excellent feedback, though, and I can't imagine how else we would get this marvellous critical eyes without SOG. The best I can ever get from my family is "oh, that is cute!"

This is lovely, and I'm sure your next commission will knock our socks off.

A wonderful painting -- and one that really captures the feeling of the Northwest at this time of the year!

This is very good for the first time out. The only criticism I would echo is in regard to edge treatment. Spend the next while really concentrating on edge qualities, and your painting will improve very quickly.

If you can get hold of it, get Richard Whitney's Little Red Book, "Painting the Visual Impression." He told me recently it's out of print for now, but it has a very good discussion of edges. Also, Harold Speed's "Oil Painting Techniques and Materials" is good for edges.

All in all, though, a very solid work.

Best--TE

Lara,

This is an excellent portrait and I was especially impressed by your use of flesh tones and the way you built up the colors and textures of the skin and modeled his cheeks and chin. The hair is also very well executed. I agree that the shadow of his hair line is overly pronounced, as is the definition in his lips, but there is much to admire otherwise.

In terms of making this look less photographic, when the focal point is the child the eye blurs the background. The pier could be much less distinct and more painterly to give that impression; only in a photo would all elements be equally sharp, and then only if you used great depth of field. And in order to make the child look more as though he were within the environment pictured around him, reflected light of the color of the sky or sand would help soften that sweater and give it more texture and depth. If you were looking at the sweater carefully in the outdoor light you'd probably see many more colors appearing in it than just the flat red.

Looking forward to seeing his brother!