Barefoot Contessa
 

This is the beginning of a large (36 X 48) commission and I need blunt, honest feedback before I proceed to color. Comments on likeness, values, composition, or anything else you notice.

Thanking you in advance,
Renee Price

Here is one of the resource photos I used for this painting. If you notice, the eyes and bottom of the dress are different from the photo.
Renee

Here is the detail of the face. Again, check for likeness, values, ect.
Thanks,
Renee

Criticism is not my forte but I will give you what I can. You have obviously committed yourself to this project. As far as the composition, the scene which you have created (outdoors, wide open, gone with the wind) seems better than the reality of the photo. But even with the vertical aspects of the (in town) bar added (which I think would be needed to explain) the lady and the bar seem a little incongruous. Possibly a picket fence would be more in keeping with the mood you have created. It's a little late for this suggestion but straightening up her posture, and showing her as just standing indoors (arms out as shown) with a simple background, that might have looked nice.

Show your painting to someone without the photo and see if they can explain the scene to you.

I look forward to other folks suggestions. I can appreciate that the pressure can be great...good luck with this.

This whole painting is a real attention grabber and I want to know more about it. Why this pose for this person...does it tell a story? (i.e., Juliet waiting for Romeo).

I like what you did with the sky behind the figure. It has a lot of strength and gives this an archetypical look.

Technically the railing does not explain itself and the bottom of the dress is not as believeable as the upper part.

The reference photo has the right side of the skirt "flipped up" a little. That might be a good design detail to add to break up the huge amount of endless material shown at the bottom of the painting. This is a design challenge and you need to devise something....

Also, you will need to lower the value of the "shadows" on the left side of the face. The left side of the face is in the light and you have broken up your light and made it much too dark.

Be more clear about light and shadow overall.

Renee, I'm no critic but I have a suggestion for a relatively quick fix. My first impression of the drawing with the rail is "at sea" Perhaps additional railing could be added to give the illusion of the bow of a ship. You may need to add a few "ship like" additions, but if you place her on the bow (or stern) you wouldn't loose all of your wonderful sky.;)

Excellent start! I think the bar makes for too strong a horizontal in the composition, breaking the painting into two halves. also without its vertical supports it looks a bit like a ballet barre, maybe you could incorporate some other features give the bar more sense.

Thank you Karin, Sandy, and Catherine for your comments! I plan to fiddle with the left side of her face before proceeding to color. I agree with the suggestion about her standing on the bow (or stern) of a ship. I debated about how to handle the background because I didn't want to use the backgrounds in any of the photos I took of her. Any suggestions on making this "look" more like the deck of a ship? (Oh, the bar will be gold tone, not black).

About the person and pose. This woman is a close friend of mine and I wanted a pose that fit her personality. She is dramatic, flirtatious, and vunerable. I believe this pose depicts those qualities in her.

Renee Price

I'm sorry Mike! Thank you, too for your comments! :sunnysmil

Renee

How about a life preserver coming in from one side? A capstand with a bell might do as well. Coiled rope, the sea swelling up on one side or the other, a life boat, sea birds....you get the idea.

Put her in a life preserver? HAHA! But I digress. :sunnysmil

Dear Renee,

This is an exciting subject, and you are doing a great job!

I have one comment, which is better illustrated by working in Photopaint. The eyes could be out of alignment, and the left cheek (her right). See what you think.

I have lassoed the sections and moved them. THe viewers left eye down, the right eye up, and the right eyebrow up. I have rotated the left eye a bit. I hope you don't mind my doing so. These tiny changes can make a big difference.

In general, making a good painting from a poor snapshot is a task that would challenge even the talent of Rembrandt...it will be necessary for you to invent such a huge portion of this painting...a daunting task for anyone.

If you can, you might want to do more photos - shot with good lighting on your subject. You also might want to include a background that makes more visual sense.

You will probably need several reference photos for this painting. And be sure and get another photo of the model showing her eyes open.

Also, you might want to rework the anatomy around the neck...in the closeup she looks as if she is wearing a thick garment.

I was a little disappointed not to see her bare feet! I think you have been very faithful to the photo, and agree with comments above adressing ways to improve on the railing and value range. lol... For a ship effect, you might decide on a mid-thigh horizon line and add a dark water element... I would also flatter the subject with a slightly thinner waistline... Please post progress! It's already beautiful!

Renee, I have studied you picture again and have a few suggestions if you wish to put her at sea. Nothing says water like a few gulls in the distant sky. Also if you were to add a strip at the bottom where the hull meets the deck with rivets it would suggest a ship without adding a lot of "shippy" additions to the body of your picture. The rail will be gold you say? I believe Victorian era ships often had brass railings, so it's not far from the mark, but I would add a second horizontal and one or two vertical rails, make it thicker and add collars and rivets where the joints meet.

I's an arresting picture and I'm sure your friend will love it. Can't wait to see the progress :)

Renee, I hope that all I have said in my previous posts doesn't sound like I'm picking on you. However, these posts do reflect my frustration that I could not begin to paint from this source photograph. You have photographed a pretty face but even that must change when you imagine the eyes to be open.

And I am embarassed to say that I finally realized that I cannot be helpful here. Personally I have crashed and burned on so many paintings that I have begun with poor or incomplete resources. It took me a long time (too long) to understand what ingredients/resources I need to make a decent painting.

I have finally gotten to a point in my work where "how to paint" is less of a problem than "wnat to paint."

Mike McCarty has a good idea posted here: http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=835

His suggestion really sums up the frustration I feel with much of the resource materials I see.

Most of the posts responding to this painting seem to agree that the pose has potential but the source photograph is too flawed to use as a reference. I would suggest these are very talented artists responding and that you should return to your client for more studies, more photographs.

I've found that as a beginner I'm in such a rush to get to the canvas that I sacrifice the foundation of the work: tonal studies, thumbnails exploring light, etc. I'm starting to see why it takes so long to paint a piece in oil on canvas!!

Thank you all so much for your informative posts! You have no idea how much I appreciate this input. In college, most of the focus is on landscapes and abstract. The fact that I use brushes smaller than a 6 is considered "too fussy" and "details interfere with creativity."

Lon, feel free to fiddle with the image. I also noticed the left cheek and left eye. I think if the pupil of the left eye is lowered slightly this will help. I don't know if the eye is out of line because, the way I see it and I may be wrong, is that the eyes are at a 90 degree angle with the nose. Maybe I've just looked at it too much!

Jeanine, in one of the photos (the one I have used for the bottom of the dress) her toes are peeking out from beneath the dress. I loved look of the ornate gown with bare feet. Unfortunately, when I did the initial drawing on canvas it was too big and I couldn't fit in the foot without making her look WAY to short. I'll have to change the name to something that explains the setting. And yes I will definately trim the waistline.

Karin, no I don't think you are picking on me. The more feedback I receive the better. Please continue to critique my work and don't hold anything back.

I won't be able to get more resource photos because she just moved to Ohio.

Mari, Sandy, Michael, I like your suggestions for the background and will play with some sketches to see how it works. I don't know about the life preserver though Michael, it's a little too Titanic for me. ;)

Thanks again,
Renee Price

One thing I learned from my grandfather was never to give up on a painting. You have put alot into it already. It will not take long at all to get this all in order. It has alot of promise.

Renee,

I love your Contessa. I am not doing a critique as I do not feel experienced for such a feat. I agree with the idea of it appearing to be on a ship and for that reason, that is why I like it so. The Drama. I would like to add that if it is a commission, then all has to be to perfection for the client but if it is for yourself, meaning that you are doing a figure painting purely for the painting of it---then I personally feel that you have "license" to do whatever. Of course, this is only my opinion because I like "mystery" paintings, so to speak. I like the viewer to use their imagination as to the why she is there alone, on a ship, dress blowing in the wind. Personally if it was my painting (not commission) I would go with it, mood and all. I do not think one needs proof of or explanations in the form of life savers, hulls, etc. Where is the imagination?Sorry Michael and Karin. Again I repeat if this is a commission, I stand corrected.

I tend to disagree that you have to have a perfect reference to tell a story. But then if I have missed it somewhere and this is a commission portrait, then yes, you may need more reference.

Good Luck,
Patt

Hi Patt,

This is a commission for a friend. I have talked with her about the ship theme and she is fine with the idea. I'm planning on adding minor changes (sea horizon and sea gulls) that do not change the painting too much.

Thanks for your input!
Renee

Renee, I think your Barefoot Contessa is just awesome! This will not only be a stunning portrait, it will be a magnificent, arresting painting! The figure, pose, hair, and dress are all reminiscent of the voluptuous actresses of the late fifties and early sixties: Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and the "Barefoot Contessa" herself, Ava Gardner.

While I totally agree that the railing she is leaning against must have a context, and certainly some vertical support, you have to be aware of everything you're getting into when you consider the setting to be a ship. Your eye level in the photo is at her waist: the courses of brick behind her confirm this absolutely--where the mortar line is completely horizontal, that's where your eye level, and thus, the horizon, must be. It also means that you would be looking ever so slightly down onto the deck that your subject would be standing on (meaning you would have a sliver of deck), and perhaps beyond onto the sea, with the horizon at her waist level. In order for this to be believable, I think you'd have to render the top of a deck accurately, with everything that would be found on it, exactly from that position, and off the side of the ship, to boot! Unless you hire a helicopter to swoop down next to a cruise ship, or find one docked at a pier which allows you to ascend to the level of one of the top deck's railing, it might be hard to find the right reference material. Additionally, the lighting would have to match the lighting of your source photograph.

I do love the romance of the ship's setting, but considering the difficulty of achieving it convincingly, maybe you could consider some alternatives. Perhaps the scene could be a balcony in an urban setting--maybe even the large veranda of a penthouse apartment. This would allow you to include potted outdoor plant material, or some flowers. Or back to the sea: maybe she is standing on a long dock; you could have the sea gulls and the horizon where ocean meets sky. Or she could be standing inside a gazebo, looking out. You could have any background then; a charming New England town square complete with church steeple in the background, or the garden of a wealthy eccentric.

Each of these settings would evoke a different scenario to be imagined by the observer, but what would not change is the powerful emotion, mystery, and wonder she, herself, portrays. Every viewer will interpret this enigma his own way, and will read into it whatever their own life experience has taught them.

So, it is up to you to decide how complicated you want the background to be (I'm sure you don't want to distract from her too much), and perhaps up to your client, because she may have a setting that is meaningful to her life. If you were doing this for yourself, I would recommend as simple a setting as possible, because the figure is so powerful herself. I can't wait to see more of this work as it progresses.

Gigi

Hi Gigi,

Thanks for your suggestions and comments! I have done several sketches over the past few days and I'm not going to add details to make the scene look like a ship. I tried several different ways and I didn't like any of them. I may add a horizontal support, but that will be the only thing. The name of the painting will be changed to something like "Waiting at the Balcony" or something else that will explain the setting. I love this painting and I don't want to take anything away from the subject.

Thanks again,
Renee