Tom and Jerry

Simon Bland · 12-02-2005, 07:05 PM

I recently joined the forum and this is my first post here. Hello everyone !

I'm just finishing up a portrait of a boy and his dog (names have been changed as requested) and I thought I would put this out for critique before I deliver it to the client.

The painting is oil on canvas, 24"x24".

This was one of my favorite paintings of the year as the boy is autistic and he couldn't pose for me. I took photographs of him as we were driven around in the back of a Kubota RTV - what fun! I wanted to paint him with some back lighting so I was lucky to capture a photo of him looking at me, smiling, with the sun in the right place. It took nearly two hours to get.

I left part of the canvas unpainted (but toned) as I felt it fitted in with the casual look of the painting. I'm also trying to decide whether or not to place his left hand around the dog's body. Any thoughts?

I would welcome any feedback, critiques or digital demos.

Thanks,

Simon

Allan Rahbek · 12-02-2005, 07:43 PM

Hi Simon and welcome to the forum.

Your painting is great and I don

Garth Herrick · 12-02-2005, 09:36 PM

Hi Simon, I want to welcome you too.

You have a gorgeous and interesting painting in development. I love the strong abstract patterning between the trees, stripes and other shapes. It's an endearing portrait and one would never detect all the challenges it represented to you. I suppose you are almost done. the thing I still want to understand is just how the boy is holding the dog. Right now that seems too mysterious. I think Allan is right that the dog could be given a more definite shape, if possible. The soft focus of the background is handled admirably. You have a strong and successful painting in the works here. It's even a square! What a great way to introduce yourself.

Garth

Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco · 12-03-2005, 05:08 AM

Hi Simon, and welcome!

I join Allan and Garth in the appreciation of this work, which shows a confident handling of paint and a capacity of connection even with such a hard model.

On a compositional level I found the picture well balanced but I am slightly disturbed by the position of the tree just behind the dog's head, that looks a bit like he is turning into a deer ! I think, if you have the chance, that shifting it to one side might help, if you agree.

Regarding the unfinished part I believe perhaps you ought to rethink about it. For me that is a solution that works very seldom: I feel that every figure needs a solidity in the base, and needs to grow from somewhere, otherwise the risk is that it might look as a ghost floating in mid air.

I believe in this case you should consider finishing all the painting at the same standard, especially as you have painted a detailed background up to the edges and sincerely I do not see a good reason to leave the most important side unpainted. For me you can achieve an informal and relaxed feeling by just painting it more loosely. Anyway this is just a personal opinion....

Many compliments again for this accomplished work
Ilaria

Claudemir Bonfim · 12-03-2005, 10:10 AM

Welcome Simon,
Very nice painting.

Alexandra Tyng · 12-04-2005, 01:52 AM

Hi Simon,

Welcome to the Forum! This is such a beautiful portrait and I can imagine what you went through to get a good photo reference for the boy. His expression is perfect and seems to reveal something very personal and meaningful about him.

What is his relationship with the dog in real life? It's true, something has to be done about his hand. Allan's suggestion might work. I would not make him do anything that is not natural to him. You might be interested in taking a look at the website of Nancy Bea Miller, an artist who includes children with disabilities in her paintings. Her autistic son often appears in her work. Her website is:

www.nancybeamiller.com

She is a member of the Forum.

I agree with Ilaria about the bottom of the painting. Right now both boy and dog appear to be sinking into the leaves. Finishing the bottom of the figures loosely might be a good solution. You have such a confident, relaxed way of brushing on the paint and the colors are subtle but glowing, with no trace of muddiness.

Alex

Lacey Lewis · 12-04-2005, 01:57 AM

I wanted to add my applause here. This is a beautiful portrait that leaves no evidence of the challenges that you must have encountered.

A very touching work of art!

Simon Bland · 12-04-2005, 12:37 PM

Thank you all for such helpful and insightful comments. I really appreciate your warm welcomes too.

I am still trying to determine the best solution to the touching problem. I'll have to sketch out some of the alternatives before committing to paint. Allan's suggestion was excellent and if I had to paint this over again I would definitely have him touch the dog with the back of his hand, but I think I have not left enough room in this picture to make it work.

Iiaria's antler comment has made public what was a private problem for me! Now that I know I'm not fooling anyone I shall try to address it by sending the tree further into the background.

Everyone views on finishing the painting were also very helpful. On reflection it's the kind of thing that some clients just won't like. I think I will try to make a compromise and fill in the unfinished areas with some loose strokes.

Thank you all once again.

Simon

Allan Rahbek · 12-04-2005, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Bland

Allan's suggestion was excellent and if I had to paint this over again I would definitely have him touch the dog with the back of his hand, but I think I have not left enough room in this picture to make it work.
Simon

Simon,
If you are going to use the touch of the backside of his hand, you could turn the body of the dog out into a position of two o

Linda Brandon · 12-04-2005, 04:05 PM

Simon, I'm glad you're getting such a warm welcome and such good advice! (And welcome!) You have nice brushwork here, a good feeling of the outdoors and the boy's face is well executed, nice job!

No one has addressed the problem I'm having with your painting, which is the size and proportions of the dog. If it's standing, its legs will have to be very long for the breed, even if the boy is sitting, and if the dog is sitting, what is it sitting on?

I like vignetting generally, I'm just visually... confused, I guess. It just feels like you are fudging two seperate photo resources, which is tricky to do.

Hope it doesn't sound like we are all jumping on you at once.