Thread: "Princess" Leah
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Old 03-11-2002, 05:13 PM   #6
Karin Wells Karin Wells is offline
FT Pro, Mem SOG,'08 Cert Excellence PSA, '02 Schroeder Portrait Award Copley Soc, '99 1st Place PSA, '98 Sp Recognition Washington Soc Portrait Artists, '97 1st Prize ASOPA, '97 Best Prtfolio ASOPA
 
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Joined: Jun 2001
Location: Peterborough, NH
Posts: 1,114
It is easier to show than tell..

I got radical with your work. Here's a version of your picture after I "painted" on it in Photoshop. This is what I did and why:

I radically cropped your painting. You have a pretty good abstract shape here, but it got lost with all the other "stuff" added in.

I think that you're a frustrated still life painter at heart. The lamp, table and molding were pretty good, but don't add anything to this portrait.

I cooled all of the background so that it would recede. I did not take the time to "ground the figure" (indicate a floor). I think that the only purpose of a background in a portrait is to enhance the figure.

I lightened the whole thing. The contrast between light and shadow on the face and hands is too great...the value range needs to be much less.

I lightened all of the shadows in the general area of light so that none of them were as dark as the shadows in areas of general shadow.

I lost and found some edges here and there. I tried to integrate the figure into the background more.

I smoothed out the skin tones - I found them too choppy for such a little girl.

I added warmth (red) into all of the skin's shadows.

I added pure color into your reflected lights and darkened the value. This insures that they will not compete with any value contained in the area of general light.

I cooled your halftones (where light meets shadow).

I added cast shadows to the eyeball beneath the upper lid.

I slightly blurred details in the shadow side. Sharp details only belong in light.
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