Louise
 

Hello everyone,

Here

Well I can see there's way too much magenta in these photos. (My grandma's not yet part of the purple haired ladies gang. :oops: ) I'll try to load up more accurate photos soon.

Beautiful!
 

You're doing a beautiful job with your grandma! She looks very alive. I think the collection case is extremely well done as well. I can't even imagine all that painstaking detail!
I am far from an expert on composition, but my feeling is that the adjacent furniture along the sides of the painting create a sense of being boxed in. Also, they keep drawing my eye as they don't seem perfectly plumb. I'm sure this is due to the photo and not your piece itself. I think those verticals could be superfluous and may detract from the beauty of the piece.

I really like the middle photo, where you have cropped your grandma to a 3/4 view. The surface of the seat looks perfect in this one, whereas when I see the whole picture the seat looks somewhat flat to me although I think that the material drapes over the side.

I hope this doesn't sound too critical, because I really do think this is terrific (wish I had done it ;) )! Just wanted to let you know what seemed to stand out for me. Your grandma is very beautiful and youthful looking. I can certainly see a family resemblance! :thumbsup:

Thanks! and better photos.
 

Hi Molly,

Too critical!? No, not at all! Thank you, you brought up the seat looking flat and I totally agree. It's one of the areas I've been trying to make look 3 - dimensional but somehow I can't get the curve right. I wish I knew what to do to round it out. Maybe it has something to do with the dark pattern of plants? Haven't figured it out, any ideas?

My idea behind having the bookcase to the left with more of it shown was to keep this composition balanced better. I really like asymmetrical compositions, and I think with out that bookshelf it would be too off balance. But I could be completely wrong! It's hard to get a very good picture of this. Some how in real life the cabinets to the sides help make diagonals towards my grandmas face and I swear the lines are strait ;).

Allan also brought up that the other furniture wasn't necessary. Right now I'm not sure what to do about it. Think I'll play around in photoshop and see if it looks better with out. If so, this is going to be a big surgery!

Thanks again Molly for your reply. I really appreciate it!

~Carolyn

(Here are a few more photos that are closer to the right colors, maybe somewhere in between is what it really looks like...)

Carolyn, I remember when you had first posted this and it is coming along very well. You're persistence will pay off, I'm sure you will finish this just fine!

Hi Jimmie,

Thanks for the encouragement. I see a lot of things I should have done differently on this one and am starting to let too many self doubts creep in. I really need to finish it and get on to the next and try not to make the same mistakes again.

I did play around in photoshop and see that you guys were right. It could have been better with out all the furniture. Unfortunately I think I will really mess it up if I try to cover them up. But thanks for pointing it out. I hope to do better in the planning stages for the next one.

Carolyn,

If you plan to remove some pastel you could use a short stiff hog hair brush to erase with. Keep the drawing vertical, or more, to be sure that the dust can fall off the drawing. Then it would be easier to cover the area with new pastels.

Allan

What a beautiful work Carolyn, beautiful in every detail.

Carolyn, I like this very much, particularly the variation of colors in the flesh and the way you have attractively softened the facial features (older women in particular appreciate this. :) ).

As you complete this you might like to think about where you could add a harder edge, possibly in the fabric?

I also like the idea of placing people in front of significant collections. You've handled this well!

Thanks for the tip Allan. I am a little nervous about trying it only because I don't want any of the dark pastel to get stuck on my grandmas face and have to touch up her face again. I think I've gotten it about as close as I can, and I'm afraid I might not be able to do it again. I'm going to have to think about it for a a couple days and then decide.

Thanks Claudemir for your nice comment, I'm so glad you like it. :)

Linda, thanks so much for your response. The funny thing is I use to not pay attention to edges until I started reading a lot here. So I really tied to keep the edges soft, and I went overboard! ha ha. I will definitely try to put some harder edges back in, and the shirt would be a good place. Thank you!

~Carolyn

Carolyn,
I also think that the portrait is excellent and only needs some harder edges at a few places as Linda suggested.

To avoid smudging the center of the drawing, when you erase, you should turn the paper so that the side you work on is downward.

Allan

Thanks again Allan. When 'm feeling less chicken I'll give it a shot. :D

~Carolyn

It's perfect!
 

Dear Carolyn,

What a fabulous portrait! It is excellent in every respect. My vote is for you to leave this portrait alone at this point and call it finished (please don't erase the furniture!!). You have just the right amount of resolution in that doll collection, which really enhances your grandmother as a setting. I love this!

Bravo!

Garth

Garth,

What a super nice post to read first thing in the morning! I was hoping that it wasn't that bad with all the furniture, because I'm so scared of erasing it. At least this has really opened my eyes to plan out future composition better. I can't wait to finish this and get on to the next one! (Here's where the little smiley icon wiping the sweat off it's forehead should go.)

Thanks so much for your response Garth, I'm so happy you like it! And so relieved you think it best to leave it alone.

Allan, thanks again for all your help. Perhaps I'll be less afraid to make changes on the next one, or hopefully do it better from the start.

Thanks again,
Carolyn

Carolyn,

Your work has grown so much! I love this piece as well.

I think that the reason that the ottoman and sandals create a problem is because they represent the sharpest edges and highest contrast, and threaten your center of interest.

You have really done a marvelous job on the figure and background, and I think preserving the background is essential. I'm attaching another croping alternative. Should you crop is such a fashion, I would minimize bothe pattern and the contrast in values in the ottoman.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the crop idea, I see what you mean about the shoes and the ottoman. Hopefully putting in other hard edges like Linda suggested will help. I think your crop could be a good way to go also. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

I'm so glad you think so! Thanks to all the wonderful posts on this site, things are finally really starting to sink in. And being able to go to so many amazing museums over here and study such incredible art!

I spend so much time just studying the work in the unveilings section, and reading past posts. It's amazing how much I've learned here, and how much more I have to learn. And lately reading a lot of comments made by Sharon about people sticking too closely to photo references, has really hit home too. So I'm going to try not to be so faithful to them and hope that will help in the future also. There are still quite a few problems with this one but just getting your comment lets me know that at least I'm going in the right direction. Slowly but surely, I hope! :)

Thanks again Chris!

Carolyn

I like Chris Saper's cropping suggestion. It gives the painting an overall more graceful look too.

I

Please Don't!
 

Dear Carolyn,

I really hope you do not crop this beautiful drawing! It is a much more compelling portrait in its original format. I feel it looses a significant amount of context and interest in the crop. To me it already has a complete and finished statement as it is. Please consider not cropping this.

Sincerely,

Garth

Hi Garth,

Do you think though with the flatness of the seat (I've tried changing the colors and values and still can't get the curve right.), and her skirt, and if I don't get her feet completed quite right it will bring down the look of the whole picture? Now, Im getting so bummed out by this one. I had such high hopes in the beginning especially with her face and hands but the more I worked on it the more mistakes I made. Now it's just sitting on the easel not being touched. I'm going to try to redo her feet, and will finish the things on the top of the cabinet that I messed up when I bumped it into the top of the easel. Then I think I need to just stop working on it and get onto the next.

Actually, maybe I'll just start the next one first. And procrastinate a little longer! ;)

Carolyn, I wouldn't dare to critique (it's unnecessary anyway) but I wanted to tell you I think this is such a superb painting and I have been watching this thread with interest. I love this painting. I like everything about it. You are lucky to have such an attractive grandma to paint as well. I am amazed at the detail you were able to get as the size is not that large. Really good work.

Thanks for that Lisa! I've been admiring your work since you got here and it's incredible. And how quickly you work blows my mind!

Honestly the only parts I really like now are her face and hands. But it has been a great experience working on this one. Too tied up in it since it's of grandma I think. ;)

You know I really think the only reason I could get all these details in such a small space is because of the paper. It's kind of like suede, it may be velour but I don't know. I have to go back to the art store and find out. It has such a neat surface that really holds the pastel right where you put it. If it was on any other paper I'm sure I would've ended up with a muddy mess!