Jean,

I really like this. It has a style that is all yours.

Thanks Kim,

"Style " is so hard to define. I want to paint like Bill Whitaker, Chris Saper, Marvin Mattleson, etc etc. But I seem to end up with this when I don't have to please the customer. Lots of hair and muscles!

Jean

While the forum was down I did a lot on Steve. All nitpicky, increased contrast in the shirt, bluejeans, and his arms. I'm trying to round his arms out more, but don't like the color of the darker line on his right arm.

Jean

I'm finally getting his hands to look like hands of a working man instead of claws. His left hand is starting to look accurate. I'll be working on his right today. As I was painting away I managed to increase the size of this hand, so I cut it back last night. He looked like a cull (lobster with a deformed claw). When I lived in Boston we went to the docks and bought lobsters with funky claws for $4.00 a lb. That was a long time ago.

Jean

Test

I've been having a horrible time trying to compress images to the target size. My wonderful husband has helped me (he's looking over my shoulder) and it has finally posted. Now if I can only figure out what he did! The image looks way too intense, I'll be back in later, severe frustration has set in. I consider this painting completed.

Jean

Jean,

All graphics programs have an option when you save the file as a jpg to select the compression level. It will be there somewhere when you click "file save."

Cynthia

But, but, but... I'm on a Mac! I do everything the easy way and this has changed my routine. We had to find out where the compression tool was (a separate program). Before, I was able to do everything in my very simple IPhoto program. I still haven't learned Photoshop so that's not an option right now. Things should go better now.

Jean

In Photoshop, all you need to do is open the file and then do a "file | save as" - give it a new name and it takes you right to the compression selection as you go through the save process.

Many of the images on the site were needlessly huge. With the accumulation over time, eventually, the Forum would have to have it's own hard drive.

I wasn't really complaining Cynthia, I understand about all that stuff, I was just whining about having to learn something new. Old dogs and new tricks!

We're going to try Steve again, hopefully this one looks better.

I made some major changes on this, mainly palette. I went back to the complimentary colors that I love so much. Repainted all skin, the shirt and jeans, and softened the background more. I also raised his eyebrows and eyes and moved the eyes further apart. The photo of the whole painting has some glare on the darker values so I added a close-up of his face to show the darks on the shadow side.

Jean

Jean,

I admire your tenacity and I think you have done yourself a huge favor by changing your palette. There was too much color sameness throughout in the previous posts.

I have a couple of comments that you can ponder. The differences I see have to do with the fact that you have taken your subject from one lighting situation and placed him in to another. More particularly, in the reference the man is under a porch, lit from the front with shadows created by the dark side of the porch.

You have in some respects translated this lighting scheme into your outdoor painting. The direct light we see on the mans hands and forearms in the photo, taken literally into the painting, now look like highlights. In your outdoor scene there would be much more ambient light that would create a more homogeneous lighting effect.

I would look at his painted left arm going up from just above the wrist, the way you have handled the shifts and tone, and I would try and replicate that scheme all the way down to his finger tips. Reducing the some of the contrasty value shifts that I think would not be present with outdoor ambient light.

Next, in the photo, if you will notice the dark values under the hands, these are the result of both the lack of ambient light (the dark side of the porch as taken this away) and the want of a photograph to intensify dark values. I would lighten this area up and maybe replace with a bit of blue reflected light. Maybe, for the same reasons, a bit on the underside of his jeans as well.

I hope this helps, best of luck.