Emily
 

Emily, 20"x 16"
Oil on a realgesso panel. (linen).
She was so much fun to paint. This is attaching as a closeup and the full view, the blue background looks slightly off to me on my screen. Thanks for viewing this.

Wow Linda! Just gorgeous and with such flair! I love how you've handled the light on her face.

Oh, this is just beautiful Linda.

What expressive eyebrows - I bet she really was fun to paint.

The last two paintings of yours I have seen have both been gorgeous, but with especially lucious lips. I suppose credit can partially be given to the models, but you have a way with lips for sure.

Dear Linda,

Wow! This is an eye-stopping elegant portrait. She's painterly, lively and lovely.

Garth

Hi Linda,
What an intriguing piece. I like her fresh expression. Very well painted,
Jerome

Hi Linda. Eye-stopping is right! It seems as though she wants to bounce right off my monitor and into my studio. And she looks like she would have something interesting to say, too. Great work. Janet

If I would say anything, I'd just repeat what has been said!
I loved it!

So luscious! I have seen this in person and it really is a show-stopper.

Very beautiful, LInda.

Terri, Kim, Garth, Jerome, Janet, Claudemir, Chris - you are all so kind to encourage me, and I really appreciate your support and generosity on the Forum.

Linda, what an elegant painting, and so feminine !
Very beautiful
Ilaria

Linda, I think this is a beautiful painting. I agree about the lips. I wish I had a mouth like that. Your model sure has a spunky attitude in this one. It's so nice to see an expression on a face in a painting. I think so often as portrait artists we neglect expression.

By the way, do you always work on the real gesso linen? What are your thoughts about it? I like the panels but haven't tried the linen.

Hi Ilaria, thanks, and this subject really reminds me of you by the way -full of vitality. (I've met Ilaria so I'm qualified to say this.)
Thank you Lisa, I usually use either realgesso panels or new traditions panels . They're both great companies. The realgesso linen has a more pronounced warp/woof weave, slightly different than I'm used to but I got the hang of it eventually.

Linda,
Gorgeous, simple and oh so elegant!
BTW, which yellow did you use here ;)?

Linda,

This is a wonderful portrait! I, too like the hint of smile and her overall expression. You made her look beautifully feminine and confident at the same time. Beautiful!

Congratulations,
Julie
________
JUSTIN BIEBER FANS

Wow!
 

Linda,

This is AMAZING, I absolutely love it!!!

Joan

Isn't She Lovely
 

So beautiful! I will print a copy of this for my special Forum notebook of ideas from which to learn.

Thanks for sharing this beautiful work, Linda. She has got personality coming out of her pores, and the colors, choice of dress and pose, and the background all come together wonderfully!

Linda,
It

Your best portrait yet, in my opinion!

Maria, why, I used Studio Products Gamboge of course! ;) Potent stuff, but I think I'll keep it on my indoor palette. I also used Yellow Ochre and Naples Yellow Deep (Old Holland).
Julie B., Joan, Carol, Julie D., Alan and Michele, thanks for these very kind words of encouragement.

Hi Linda,

What a wonderful portrait! The personality of this young woman really makes an impression. I love the gaminish ears, the sparkly eyes and the curvy eyebrows and lip corners. She doesn't look like she's going to sit in that 2-D rectangle for long! I admire your colorful, lively application of paint. Terrific!

Alex

No comment, just applause (and lots of it!) :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Absolutely beautiful Linda. I love the interplay of warm and cool colors in the skin tone. Now it's your turn to tell me what colors are on your palette, although I know that it's not in the paint, but in the skill of the painter.

Alex and Heidi, thank you so much for your generous comments.

Mark, thank you. This is an example of trying to get a cool diffuse north light from life effect in a portrait. I'm not able to get this kind of subtle skin modelling with all the temperature changes unless I get conditions like this. I'm trying to set up photographs that simulate north light as it would fall on a face when you work from life. It's not especially easy to do although bracketing helps - what happens in most photographs is that the lit side tends to dissolve into one light patch and big areas get blown out. (This is what I mean when I keep telling people they are too photographic; the human eye would not have seen the area in the same way.) . I hire models to sit in my studio for me so I get some regular practise with natural light work. When I shoot people under natural north light I usually still have the blown-out-lights problem. This was a commission though, and I ended up shooting my client with a strobe and soft box setup.

I hope this makes sense. This is just one way, and certainly not the only way to paint. I don't do outdoor portraits like this, either.

My palette is pretty much the same (except for the new yellow) as what I used in Graduation Gift.

Linda, que linda! The smile is just perfect. I'd love to see it in person. Oh yeah, you cancelled our plans of meeting, oh, too bad, I would have liked to show you my pastels in person also to see the noses real close, but whatever. Pfffftttt. ;)

Linda this is wonderful, certainly one of my favorites! Wow, you feel like as a viewer you could groom her eyebrows!

Awesome!

Linda, I like your style and I love this portrait!

Oh Linda, I can't say anything that hasn't been said, it is REALLY beautiful!

Linda--

Just checked back in today...

This is Fabulous! My favorite so far. Wonderful color(s) in skin! Wish you'd come teach me how.

She's beeyoootiful.

--TE

Congratulations on a beautiful portrait. I love her eyebrows! Three pages of compliments don't leave much that hasn't been said so ditto to it all, I like it.

Jimmie, Beth, Virginia, Mary, Tom and Janel, these are all kind and generous posts and I really appreciate them. Thank you so much!

My, my - haven't we been productive?

Sorry to chime in so late on this, but I feel the need to add
to the praise on this one. This is truly your best yet, Linda. It rivals, if not surpasses "Cliare at Eighteen," which is my favorite of yours. Therefore, I have a new favorite!!!

An aside- I have you to thank for introducing me to the New Traditions panels, which I use in my plein air work (the C-15 linen mounted to Gatorfoam). It's got such a great pull off the brush; I've had some good successes with it. I still use primed MDF for my studio works, though. But if I can ever afford it, I'll treat myself to a big ol' Dibond panel or something from NT. Their products are GREAT.

This is beautiful Linda. You painted every aspect of her features so very well. A very captivating portrait.

Rob and Henry, I really appreciate these kind comments, thank you!

Linda,
I printed this one off to study - Wonderful painting and wonderful use of color!!

Linda I have just come back from a local art exhibition that had some investment pieces ofwell known Australian artists work. I wish yours was there as it would have lit up the whole room, no doubt.

Your work is certainly showing lush paintly work of late. Well done! Your passion shines through.

Linda, I just saw this and really like the fresh and fluid brush work. Very nicely done ;)

Linda,
This is beautiful. I am a fan of all your work and this is another fun one to study. You must be very pleased!

The exceptional Linda Brandon!! What an exceptionally beautiful portrait. Very painterly. And ditto to everything that's been said. Congratulations!