Samantha

Jeanine Jackson · 10-28-2005, 06:53 PM

Linda, so nice to "see" you here! Thank you for your keen observations and comment about her shoe. I am painting it from life as well as the photo and while accurate, it is not reading properly. I shall try your suggestion!

To all: Your comments are encouraging and helpful. Thank you!

Normally, I tone the entire canvas. Something about this primed linen is too absorbent to wipe back easily. I kind of like the richness of its tooth therefore went with it for background only. Everything you see hear was ragged on.

My main concern is that I may have made the subect too small. My consolations are that I plan to keep everthing else dark and secondary and I like the composition for her placement within a real room.

I can't wait to get my brushes into this! I am forcing myself to live with it in each phase to evaluate before moving on.

Michele Rushworth · 10-28-2005, 08:56 PM

Quote:

My main concern is that I may have made the subect too small.

I like the amount of room you have around her. I think too many artists jam their subjects into a too-tight space and crop too closely. I especially like this amount of space around a child, to remind us of how small they are.

Alexandra Tyng · 10-28-2005, 09:50 PM

Hi Jeanine,

I'm enjoying watching your portrait progress. You're certainly getting expert advice so I really don't have much to add, especially at this stage. I only have one question: do you really need the scroll with ""Samantha" on it? I checked your website (very nice work, by the way!) to see if putting scrolls into paintings was something you normally do, but it doesn't look that way. In my opinion (and you certainly don't have to agree), the scroll takes away from the simple, elegant composition, and adds an ambiguity to the illusion which you may not want. It also crowds the space. As Michele pointed out, having the dark, empty space around the girl accentuates her smallness and draws all the attention to her. My tendency would be to ruthlessly eliminate anything that doesn't fit with the concept of simple, light pink-and-white girl focal point surrounded by darkness.

Alex

Jeanine Jackson · 10-29-2005, 04:15 PM

Michele,

Thank you for your encouragement about size and placement. I needed that!

Alexandra,

I have taken your advice!

Your website is so impressive! I especially admire how each of your portraits tells a story without feeling cluttered.

Best,
Jeanine

Jeanine Jackson · 11-08-2005, 10:44 AM

My client returned yesterday and here is the next phase.

Alexandra Tyng · 11-09-2005, 10:29 AM

Looks great, Jeanine! I'm hoping you'll post some closer closeups as this progresses.

Lisa Ober · 11-11-2005, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexandra Tyng

Looks great, Jeanine! I'm hoping you'll post some closer closeups as this progresses.

Me too! Me too! Yes, I admit I have been watching this develop and I am really enjoying it. Lovely so far. Can't wait to see more.