Likeness?
 

I need help! The Mom is really happy with the two boys in this portrait, but not with the little girl. To me, it looks like her! It's 3' x 4' oil on canvas.

I suspect that the profile plus the smile obscure some of the child's more salient characteristics (such as wide set eyes and full lips).

Any advice on making this Mom happy?

Reference photos
 

These are some of the reference photos I am working with. On the bottom row, you can see the old version with photo on right, and new reference with photo on left.

Thanks!

Andrea,

One thing that would help a great deal is if you could post a section of just the girl's face in higher resolution. It's very difficult to view that small an area with any specificity.

Looking at the bottom two images, it looks to me like the slope of her face is wrong. In the painting, her chin recedes too far, compared to the photo. Her face seems to angle inward too much. See how features line up with each other with a plumb line.

As Mike suggested, use higher resolution photos, and put your photo reference next to your art. That makes it easier to see the differences.

Personally, I hate to have to resort to that, since I'm trying to learn to draw accurately by eye, but if you have a commission to save, pull out all the stops.

Is this better?

Her forehead looks a bit too large in length to me.

I would re-photograph her with photos that show her turned more towards the viewer so that the mother can see the features she wants to.

Andrea,

You

Hi Andrea,

Welcome to the Forum! Now that Steven has given you an extensive guide on how to improve this head, I have a more radical idea - get rid of this reference photo and use another one. (The photo to our left is better, but maybe not the best one you have).

The photo you're using is not quite a profile and not quite a three-quarter head. The tangent point between the cheek on our left and the tip of her nose is a clue that this is going to be a more difficult angle to "nail". I love that little turned up nose and if this were my commission I'd try to find an angle that catches some shadow to define it.

If you have a thin paint layer it's not difficult to start over on a new head. I'd apply a thin layer of medium over the whole head and start over (some people use retouch varnish, which I personally don't like to use).

Meanwhile, this is a nice composition. I like the idea of showing siblings doing things together. And such a big painting! Good for you for pulling this off.

Best wishes,

Linda

Thanks everyone. I so appreciate your time and insights! I feel like you're helping me not just with this painting, but with more general questions of my approach to likeness. I've been doing this as a business about 4 years, and find that overall I hit it just right about 60-75% of the time, but the likenesses I have difficulty with can be very frustrating for both me and my clients. I found Steven's detailed analysis really helpful in pointing out how much room I have to become more observant.

Perhaps it is a question that some poses and expressions are just a lot more difficult to capture than others? I most likely need to be more cautious when selecting them.

It is important to the mother that the girl is laughing at her youngest brother, so maybe the answer is to go to a more true profile, as Linda suggests.

I've already taken hundreds of photos for this commission (thank goodness for digital photography) so I'll pour through them once again and see if I can come up with something better!

Thanks again. After laboring alone, it's such a pleasure to get feedback from people who really know!

Linda, do you think this adequately addresses the 3/4-profile dillema? It may be the best I have.

(I hate to go back to the mom for more photos..)

I would not hesitate to go back and take more photos until you get the perfect shot. Then I would have the mom sign off on that one ideal photo of the daughter's face before you do any more work on it.

If the project hinges on having the daughter laughing at her brother, that's going to take a lot of photography (or terrific luck) to get just the right shot. I would never attempt to combine two or more face reference photos -- too much is different and has to be guessed at.

Perhaps this is the reason for your past difficulty with likenesses. I choose ONE face shot to work from and that's it.

Andrea,

Whenever I talk a client out of a "laughing face portrait" I feel as if I've dodged a bullet. I have a terrible time trying to make them look "natural". You might wander through the SOG stable of artists to see if you can find someone who paints them well, and study what lighting he/she uses. The strong outdoor light you have in your portrait also is making it hard for you to find attractive shadow patterns. Good lighting is EVERYTHING in portraiture.

You might also explain to your client that a photo is different from a painting on many levels and that an expression that is perfect for a photo may not be successful in a painting. Clearly this is a lively, happy child and you can show her happiness in other ways than a flat-out laugh.

I agree with Michele - take as many more photos as you need and take your time with the head.

Thanks for the insight guys--I feel like I understand much better why this has been difficult and next time(!) will feel more assertive when working with the client on finalizing the composition. (Now I know it's not JUST my lack of talent)

I really admire the sunny natural feeling in your outdoor portraits, Linda (I was looking at your website, particularly "Allena" and "Chloe") I especially love the way you are able to keep the shadow colors so fresh and high-key.

Hi Andrea,

Nice job on that painting. You must have worked hard for quite a long time based on the complexity of the composition.

I really like the last photo of the little girl that you said has the nice expression but is not as clear. Are you going to use that one?

Mark

What happened?
 

Hi Andrea,

I was curious as to how you resolved your commission of the three siblings. I really loved the colors and composition in this. Did you adjust the girl's forehead? I'll bet that would have made a big difference.

I know it can be very difficult to schedule several photo shoots with young children. If you need to work with what you have, altering just a few things that people have suggested may do the trick.

Hope its going well.

Mary

Hi --thanks to everyone. with your help, the parents are finally delighted. Changing the angle to a clearer 3/4 view was the key. (thanks, Linda!)

I think I lost a little something in the composition, because there's less variety in the angles and expressions of the children's faces now, but the client is happy so what else matters?

detail of revised head:

What a lovely composition! No wonder the parents are delighted.

Angles
 

Some angles are just hard to paint. When you can't read a person from life or see what you want to in the photos then it's very hard to be happy with the painting. The mouth at this angle is simply hard to see. The highlight of the nose is lost into the highlight of the cheek. Just choose easier angles that convey form better.