Jessica
 

Okeedokey! Here I go. It's been a year since I last completed an oil portrait. Since then,
I've only been working on pastels - So please be gentle!

This portrait is of a beautiful young Polynesian - American lady. Her skin tone was very
unique and quite a change from the typical Caucasian or African American I'm used to.

The reference photo was taken with extreme back light in a dining room, but I thought her
beauty really popped out with a lower key background.

As I said, be gentle ...

Close up
 

Hands
 

Reference
 

I think she's just lovely, Julianne. You've caught her face and expression beautifully, and I like the soft treatment. The dark background complements her skin and dress well; good choice. The only suggestion I'd make is to take another look at the color of the bodice versus that of the skirt; the skirt seems pinker and somehow of a different material than the bodice, so they don't appear to belong to the same article of clothing. I like the way the pink picks up the background but somehow the two segments need to be integrated better.

Is this a commission, and what made you choose oils rather than pastels? I think it works quite well, so I'm just wondering, not having pastels as an option yet myself.

Fabrics & Beadwork
 

Leslie, thank you for your reply.

The fabric of the skirt is that of a knit velvet that is a nude color. The bodice is also nude, but made up of kind of a transparent mesh. The issue of color inbalance comes in with the beadwork. The beads are GOLD, and not a cool gold either a very lemon yellow type gold. I probably should have manipulated them a bit more, but I did this puppy in a very short time so I didn't have time to let it sit and age on me. Also there are hundreds of rhinestones grouped tightly within the clusters of gold beads. It's quite a stunning gown on stage!

I was studying Ingres, David, Stuart and Sargent's techniques on details of ornate fabrics. Oh, to paint like them! I had a diffcult time not overworking the beads and still give them detail, so I just started painting looser to keep the detail of the dress from overpowering the features of her face.

Just a note, the image has seemed to really pick up the ochre, it's not that pronounced in the finished piece.

Yes it was a commission, requested in oil.

Fabric - Beading Detail
 

As you can see, the mesh of the bodice fabric is transparent nude with gold beads and irridescent rhinestones. The skirt fabric, not shown here is really a different color, but matches the mesh more. The problem is that since the mesh is transparent, it takes on the properties of the model's skin and changes color, so it no longer matches the skirt.

Hi Julianne!

I really like how you've handled the beading!
Just wondering how big is this painting?

Julianne, if the difference is more pronounced in the image I'd leave it, but you might want to consider introducing a little more of the pink tone into the bodice just to tie them together. You've done a beautiful job suggesting the texture; this is a lovely painting.

Size
 

Sorry, I forgot to post the size, it is oil on canvas 20" x 24".

Thanks for the comments I needed to hear some feed back other than the little voices in my head. Those around me tend to think that saying "it looks lovely" helps, when in fact, I'm looking for critique, then when they really do like it, I don't believe them. Alas, the mentality of an artist.