Jamie
 

Here's another one...

Michele,

This is fresh and alive. Your abilities have far exceeded this humble citizen's ability to nitpik.

This could easily be double-wrapped and shipped as is. All your recent paintings are winners.

This would be an oil painting of what size?

Thanks, Mike! It's 16" x 14".

Bravo! Beautiful painting Michele.

Beautiful painting Michele! Nothing to critique!

I especially like the background - the foliage is subtle, but it keeps him from being lost in the darkness of the background. Was this in your reference photo or did you decide on this compositionally? Just curious about your approach - I'm always at a loss when it comes to backgrounds...

Lovely work, Michele.

I can feel the softness of the hair.

Simply Stunning!

Michele-

Very Old-world feel to this. I love it.

What a beautiful painting! This painting is a great example that teeth, when executed correctly, do not have to take away from the success of a painting. Your handling of this little boy's smile is wonderful.

This is your best yet! I agree with everything Enzie said. Soft, full of life, great smile, hair- wonderful.

Jean

Just beautiful and lively. Looks like he going jump right out of the canvas! Nice work, Michele.

Michele, this is everything an outdoor portrait should be. You've finessed that big smile with style and charm. It's a terrific painting and I wish it were one of mine.

I agree with everyone else, Michelle- Great painting! Love those edges!

Best wishes,

Hi Michele,

It's a very sympathetic painting, his expression is wonderful and alive.

Greetings,
Peter

Hi Michele:

It looks like you were presented with a triple threat situation, (smiley/teeth, frontal, outdoors), and really made something special of it. When studying a portrait the first thing I look at is the forehead. I feel real solidity there. Very well done.

I really like this one Michele!! You could be the painter of smiles, this is so convincing and you have captured such spirit and youth. He is very alive in this painting. You will no doubt have extremely happy customers! I only hope to be as accomplished some day!

Uh, what happened to the critique that was here a little while ago? It was nice and long and I wanted to come back to it and read it more thoroughly... Peter, was that you?

Michele,

Another beauty! As with the Shauna portrait, your handling of light on the foliage fits perfectly with the composition. You seem to have everything right in these recent portraits. I agree with Chris about the hair. This one is very Bougereauesque in the handling of the hair and the modelling of the face. Thanks for posting these. It helps to see what you've done and try to pick up some pointers, even if the work is beyond my ability to critique. If we try to replicate your efforts, just remember: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

John

This is one of those pieces that finds other painters sticking their noses right up to the canvas and adjusting the bifocals to try to steal some of your licks. Wish I were close enough to perpetrate such a theft.

Okay, now let's move this thread to the unveilings-section. We start to sound like Wetcanvas here.

I removed my own critique-remarks earlier because this thread didn't seem the appropriate place to put them in. I mailed them to Michele personally.

Peter

Yes, can we get some closeups? I don't see how we can snarf your technique without a closer look.

This is so light and fresh. The transition from light to shadow is really nice. He looks vibrant. I like your handling of the foliage as well, those leaf edges are definitely Bouguereau-esque.

But you did ask for a critique, so here are a few quibbles.

I rather like the dark background. It's unusual today, maybe, but a classic idea. I think dark backgrounds allow us to appreciate the serious nature of children, or appreciate them seriously.

The hair has wonderful colors in it. I especially like the amber hues you have in there. The edges seem uniformly soft, and the green is of a lighter value than the foliage, though, which is giving him a haloed appearance.

I was thinking about our long discussion about one eye on the center of the canvas. The center of the canvas seems to fall right between his eyes, creating a very uniform negative space, and not centering interest on one eye.

I really like the right side of his jacket. The way it catches the light is very good. Again, the edges have a uniformity to them but I don't suppose anyone's looking for that very hard once you've dazzled them with his face. The left side of his jacket might be an opportunity for you to lose the edge entirely, maybe picking up more fo the foliage colors and really pushing it back, where it seems to want to push forward currently.

Taken together, the more or less uniform edges, centered placement, big smile, halo effect of the hair, and excellent brushwork are creating a photographic appearance.

Truly, these are quibbles. The light of the paint is the first and strongest impression.

Best
Lisa

Here's a closeup.

Thanks for your kind comments, everyone, and I especially appreciate the suggestions for improvement.

Michele, I love this portrait. You've caught the child's charm and his personality shines through. The painterly way you've delineated the hair and the fabric of the shirt is wonderful. I also especially like the way the curls in the hair are echoed by the soft rounded shapes of the leaves. My only quibble is that at least on my monitor the lower part of his face, especially on the viewer's left, is so dark that it draws the eye and also makes it appear that that portion of his cheek and chin recedes a bit more than I would suspect that it actually does. A little more light on the outward curve where the lower cheek swells between the edge of the mouth and our left side of the face would be just enough to make a significant difference. Otherwise it's perfect.

Michele,

I've come back to this one a couple of times, and just realized that I haven't commented on it yet. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said. I'm surprized to see that you haven't added it to your website yet. Did the client not want you to put it there? That would be a shame.

This painting is a beauty. It will be treasured by the family for many generations. I can't help but get the feeling that it was painted with great ease, like everything fell into place the first time. It just doesn't look like anything was a struggle. Am I right? Were you really in the zone while you painted this one?

Thanks, everybody, for your comments on this one. I delivered it yesterday and the client was very happy.

I don't like to put images on my website 'til the clients have seen the paintings and approved them. Also, Cynthia is out of town so it may be a while before this painting and the Shauna one are up on my site.

I wouldn't say it was a breeze to paint. What gave me the most trouble was the slight angle of the head. After I got a protractor and measured the angle of the main face axis (it was four degrees off of vertical) things went much more easily. I had been subconsciously trying to make everything squared up to perfectly vertical and horizontal and that put all the features out of alignment. Once I got out my level and plumb line and started using the protractor, everything fell into place.

Breathtaking
 

This is wonderful, Michele! Your clients should hold a very large unveiling party in your honor.

I have two minor offerings.

The halation is almost too perfect. I would like to see a few areas of the dark foliage lace through the hair on top.

I am so glad you posted the detail. The angles of his shoulders and head do not look easy and you captured them all beautifully. Perhaps a little color vibration through the blues and/or warmth in some shadows would add interest.

Breathtaking!

Excellent work! I love the expression. It really gives the work life and adds character.