Hi Jean,

Just a little something to think about. Should the shoulders be lowered to show the neck more like in your latest references?

Hi Allan,

It's good to be talking to you again. Are you referring to the first pose? I think the problems there were with the lack of light on her face. I'm glad that you pointed out the shoulders also, they are quite high.

Jean

Hi again. This is the ref we are going with. I'm happy because of all the wonderful colors in her skin, and the expression on her face. Eyes are highlighted very nicely. I didn't like the posed look of her hands, so I went with a cropped version.

I'll be bringing the background trees up, but they will be very loose. My only concern right now is the post. I like the variation of texture and the strong vertical, but may not be able to pull it off in paint. So wish me luck, or doom me to failure! ;)

Jean

I forgot to mention, I'm removing the tree on the left and replacing that area with more leaves. Also, the area of her hair the "kisses" the post will changed..............must have no tangents, must have no tangents, must have no tangents (repeat to self twenty times a day).

Jean, what about cropping above the bend in her nearer arm? Also, couldn't you eliminate the post altogether? If you are painting an upper body portrait, a simpler background often works better. All you would have to do is take another reference photo of her in the same position, but move her out slightly from behind the post so that the light falls on her left (our right) side.

Hi Alex,

I'll sleep on your suggestions, thank you for commenting. I can't reshoot her as she lives out of state and I won't see her again till Christmas. But I will go through my shots again to see if there is one with her farther away from the post.

Jean

If she is not available, you could use a stand-in. You already have the shape of her arm; all you need is to see how the light falls.

You're right Alex. I'm going to remove the post, and get a stand-in for the lighting on her arm. But why crop it above the bend in her arm, I've always felt that an arm leading straight down looked blocky, boring, etc and I love that little sensual curve of a soft bend. Her left arm creates the slight impression of a circle and keeps the eye in the painting.

Convince me. What is your reasoning? Please keep in mind that I value your opinion and respect your talent, I'm not being argumentative, just curious.

Jean

Hi Jean,

Convince you? Oh-oh! Well. . .I think the way you have it, the hands look cut off. In other words it says to me, "She can't paint hands." Now of course I know that is not the case!

I tend to see portraits in terms of certain groupings. There's the "head-and-shoulders," or "head-and-upper-body" which takes in the torso. But when you get down near the hands, it seems odd not to put them in. But honestly, Jean, everybody's got their own way of looking at it. That was just my reaction.

Hi Alex, hmmmmmmm. i don't know if I'm convinced yet. I never considered that someone might think that I cropped it there because I couldn't do hands! I just love that sensual little curve in the inner elbow,
and the circle that is created with the folds of the fabric and her arm. I think I'll do studies of this both ways and see how they turn out. :sunnysmil

Jean

I've continued this topic in the "Works in Progress" section.

Jean