Portrait

[Bart Cornelis]

Hi, This my daughter Claudia. I am a free-time painter and I'm a great admirer of the 19th century realistic painters. I would like to learn more about 17th century Flemish and Dutch painting techniques. I have experimented with rabbit skin glue + chalk grounds, imprimaturas, monochromous underpaintings etc. I would be very glad to hear some critiques or information on 17th century painting techniques.

[Cynthia Daniel]

Bart,

Wow, your painting is beautiful, I'm impressed!

However, the size you posted exceeds the maximum size allowed. An image cannot be more than 400 pixels wide nor more than 400 pixels high. Following is a closeup I created from your original.

By the way, by "free-time" painter do you mean freelance or part-time?

[Dean Lapinel]

First of all...Wow!! Beautiful painting, subject, pose, values and incredible work with the clothes. So to start with, I love the painting and wish I could paint in a similar fashion.

Now my input on the critical side (nitpicking). I think the blue sky on the left is slightly distracting and could be left out. I think your hue of the yellow/orange scarf changes too much from left (highlight) to right. Lastly, the reflected light back on the right arm immediately makes me think studio set-up and takes away from the natural beauty of an outdoor scene. Clearly there could be an object outdoors that could do this but that was my first reaction.

Your work reminds me of William Bouguereau's work that was often posed in a studio. I'd love to see more!

[Maxine Gilder]

Bart, I think it's really an interesting portrait. Your daughter makes a beautiful subject. I was reading about how painters have been painting their subjects in dress from different periods and cultures since the beginning of portraiture. How the romanticism of those times are more inspiring. I liked that idea because I myself have always been attracted to the past. It's very romantic, is the head scarf part of your tradition?

[Steven Sweeney]

It hardly needs to be said that this is an extraordinarily well rendered piece. I especially note deft use of cool greens in the shadow areas of the collarbone, as well as interplay of violets and yellows in the "white" garment.

Since Bouguereau's name has been invoked, I'd like to call up his painting, "Temptation", to second Dean's comment about the reflected light on the edge of the shadow side of the arm.

"Temptation" is in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and can be viewed at http://www.artsmia.com/uia-bin/uia_doc.cgi/query/1?uf=uia_rwGQMK.

For all the ambient light in that scene, the shadow sides of the subjects' arms and hands remain in shadow; only the back edge of the child's back has a noticeable lightening of the shadow. Most significantly, this accords with the setting in which they are placed. To that point, the darkening of the background grassy area in your painting, Bart, next to the arm on the left, was artificially required by the lightening of the arm's edge, not dictated by the light source (which in fact is very brightly illuminating one side of the headscarf, and would similarly illuminate the grass behind the girl). Too, that lighted edge on the arm has the same quality from the top of the shoulder to the bottom of the elbow. My recommendation, admittedly born of infinitely less experience than you already have, would be to re-lighten that area of the background that you've darkened -- in the area of the mid-third of the arm -- and then darken the edge of the arm in that same area. The background would then make "more sense" (as being in the full light), and the variation in the arm's shadow edge would add interest. The light on top of the shoulder makes perfect sense, by the way, as we'd expect the sky to "backlight" that area, just as we accept some reflected light on the elbow, even from the dark fabric.

The blue skyhole is interestingly reminiscent of Bouguereau's painting as well; perhaps it needs the counterbalance that Bouguereau used, an even brighter flash in the far background on the other side, the lighted side of the scene.

Last note: the centerline of the nose doesn't seem to have quite the same tilt as the head. For example, compare a line drawn from corner to corner of the mouth, with a line drawn across the base of the nostrils. There would be a presumption that these would be close to parallel, (though for all I know, they are not, in your subject.) Just something to have a look at.

These are extremely nitpicky observations, but you're clearly at a level of expertise that suggests that you've survived and profited from far more excruciating examination of your work!

Best continued success.

Steven

[Timothy C. Tyler]

I think is good work. It has a surreal feel about due to the background stuff which is pretty interesting. I would prefer it if arms and hands didn't fall out of the comp, just my personal feelings. You have nice form in the piece too. I think a litle less reflected light on the left side arm maybe. The total is solid and firm and does remind one of B. You have good color too.