Background help

[Sharon Knettell]

Elizabeth,

Mid-calf is 7 heads, not 71/2 heads, so your figure would be 56" + 4" = 60". Either the mid- thigh or calf size would work. Whatever you feel you can handle.

I find velvet is the best for backdrops, use a deep blue one.

Sincerely,

[Elizabeth Schott]

Thanks for the proportions, Sharon.

I think I will attempt this large of a piece as a pastel first, I don't think I am ready to try it in oil. I know Marius will be excited to pose.

Since I haven't scheduled Marius for another sitting yet, and you thought the head was coming along, I started over and worked from the reference I took at his last sitting.

I did shoot him with and without his glasses. I think his glasses give him a real bohemian look, but I am not sure if they should go on this head and shoulders portrait.

Any comments are needed and welcomed.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Here is a close up. These digitals are a tad dark, I was trying to avoid too much glare. But the canvas is overall dark too.

[Sharon Knettell]

Elizabeth,

Somehow the drawing was more accurate on the first go. On the turned side of his face the mouth should be shorter. The ridge over his eye seems too prominent, as well as his jaw. The cheek bone should be a touch wider. The side of his face turned toward us is a touch too narrow and the position of the ear looks off.

This is a method I sometimes use. Get a proportion wheel and a pair of calipers. Say your reference is a 6" head, and you want an 8" head. Match 6 and 8 on the wheel and it will give you accurate measurements of anything in between. For example from the nose to the chin on your photo is 2", the wheel will tell you what it would be in an 8" proportion. Use your calipers to mark off the right distance. This works well when rechecking your measurements as well.

Take some time to do an accurate head study. Only amateurs rush, thinking that is facilty.

The glasses are great, use them.

Sincerely,

[Timothy C. Tyler]

This piece and your work generally is getting better. In the photo, there are 3 clear values near the head. The highlight, the shadow side of the head and the background which is somewhere between the two. It is nice when the shadows on the subject are stronger than the background-in other words more contrast.

[Elizabeth Schott]

Thanks Tim and Sharon.

I

[Elizabeth Schott]

Okay, for the sake of helping others, I

[Elizabeth Schott]

Tim, Sharon or all,

How do you know how far to push the value in the skin tone, meaning the shadows of the face? I think one of my problems here was I started above from life and then went to the photo reference, but as Sharon pointed out, I tend to lighten the lights instead of darkening the darks. Are there rules of thumb here?

[Jeff Fuchs]

Is it my imagination, or do you see it too? In the photo, the far side of the face appears to advance, and the nearer side appears to recede. That's exactly the opposite of what's really happening. Maybe I'm just used to seeing the far side of the face in shadow.

It makes for a different look, but a challenge to overcome. I think it's why the left side of the mouth doesn't seem to recede in the painting. It doesn't recede in the photo either.

What do you think?

[Timothy C. Tyler]

See that book with the green apples on the cover just to our left? Ole Davey talks about the shadow value thing and not only that but I like the pictures.

Administrator's Note: Tim refers to the book on the left "Oil Painting Secrets from a Master" which features the work of David Leffel.