BJ, from 30 years ago

[Jen Reinstadler]

This woman's husband wanted a three-quarter figure painting based on his wife's college photo. I photographed her own present-day figure. I know the midtones in the chest area are too dark. Help! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Besides the too-red cheeks and light skin, why does she look like a clown?

[Jen Reinstadler]

Here's my "composite photo."

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Jen, you placed a teenager's face on a 40+ adult's figure, which right away throws off your body proportions. I don't think her chest area would have been this much developed back when she was a teen. Take the painting infront of a mirror and look at the mirror image. You will ee right away that her head is too small for her body.

Because of your bad resource photo (too flat and washed out), you don't have all the information needed to make the cheeks turn gradually. I would take the black and white image to Photo Shop and play around with Image/Adjustments/Levels. Maybe there you can get more information about the different values of her cheeks.

Good Luck!

[Kimberly Dow]

Her mouth is softer than the eyes and eyebrows - try and soften those hard edges with some blending and maybe toning down the contast...this could help with the cartoony-feel a bit. Hope this helps!

[Jen Reinstadler]

Thanks for the comments.

Another problem I'm having is in the cheek area, where I've overworked it. There's no more canvas texture, and it's slick. Should I scrape it down, sand it, or is there another way?

[Kimberly Dow]

If it's still wet and you can scrape it do that. Sanding on canvas will leave shiny patches that are another whole problem. I've heard it can be done right - but I've never figured it out.

[Terri Ficenec]

Hi Jen--
There a very short thread about 'restoring tooth' here. I thought the bit about the onion sounded like an interesting approach... but have never tried it myself. . .

[Anthony Emmolo]

Hello Jen,

Good luck with the portrait. One of the exciting aspects of our field in my opinion is that with an extra push, we can get beyond almost any trouble in the painting.

I refer to the Old Masters when I have a question about a painting or drawing. It is rare to see teeth in an Old Master portrait. I believe it is a reason why you feel you are getting the 'clown' feeling. My feeling is that the Old Masters, particularly an artist like Rembrandt had an emotional depth in their portraits that is rarely seen today. College graduation photos often have superficial smiles. You may want to play around with the smile if you believe you can do it without losing the likeness.

It is often difficult taking a commission like this for the fact that the person desiring the painting doesn't understand these subtleties (I know I don't know how to spell subtlties) and may choose a weak photo for the artist to work with. But with the right attitude we can gain from any experience. I'd love to see the painting when it is done.

Anthony Emmolo (Happy to be back with the forum after a two year break during a divorce from my wife.)

[Jen Reinstadler]

Terri, thanks for the tip to the thread on restoring tooth. I happen to own a can of retouch varnish from my college years. Here all this time I thought it was just the quick fix gloss to spray on twenty minutes before the assignment was critiqued! I knew it worked to pick up areas of dull paint, but no one ever told me it actually improved the working surface!

Anthony, alas, I think we are victims of our modern perceptions. Every time I draw or paint a person without that signature "say cheese" smile, I get comments about how sad or depressed he looks. My husband thinks even half my smiling visages look too sad. And he seems to represent the everyman in his views, because my clients comments almost always mirror his. I suppose it is up to us to express our society how they want to be remembered. And since technology can capture the most fleeting expression...

Actually this portrait started out from life, but the husband didn't want his wife to be memorialized forever as a placid 50-something woman. He wanted "that look she gives me." When our attempts to capture that certain "look" failed, his next preferred option was to use his favorite old photo of her. So, here we are. He loves it; she's not sure it looks like her. But he's the client.

[Anthony Emmolo]

Good luck Jen,

I understand the dilemma. I hope you're happy with the portrait. Move on to the next one now with what you've learned here.

Anthony