First grisaille
 

Hi,

Here's a just-finished (hopefully) portrait I did of Derk Hanson, a wildlife artist and family friend. The reference photograph I took myself.

The painting is my first in flirting with the grisaille method, which made painting all the surroundings a lot more manageable.

The size is 36" x 42" wide. Sorry I don't have a close up, but I will try again (camera problems today).

Thanks for your critique,
Linda

Oops, here it is I hope.

close up
 

----

Linda,

This is a wonderful painting, my only advice would be to knock off the sharpness of the crease which goes across the subjects back and down his arm. Great job!

Thanks
 

Yes - you're right - that fault line running down the middle of the shirt is a distration. Thanks, Mike, I will definitely attend to that.

Linda

Very nice piece, Linda. I really like the composition and the tone of the painting. It gives a feeling of isolation and his concentration. Hopefully you did not break it. :)

Hi
 

I'm glad to hear you say that Josef - as he actually finished this painting a year ago, and the shot I took of him was of him pretending to paint. He actually had nothing on his brush, and the painting was there as a prop. So it's nice to see that it still comes off as a "real glimpse" of a moment in time.

Thanks,
Linda

Hi Linda,

Another marvelous work!

The only thing that breaks up the beautiful design of the piece are the two lights over the easel; because they're so dark on such a light background, they pop out maybe more than you intend. I do like how compositionally they redirect the eye and keep the viewer from exiting the painting at that light area at the top of the canvas; maybe the area above them could be darkened slightly to knock back the contrast.

That is very nit-picky. I love how you've controlled the values in this painting to support the figure.

You alluded to a new studio set up, is this your first "new studio" piece?

Hey Mari,

How's it goin'... Yes the lamps are bold up there, but I think they are standing out more in this screen shot of the painting than in the real painting itself. Thanks for your encouragement!

As far as the new studio, that I aborted. What I was actually planning was renting a storefront space in a chic part of town, as it seems I find more commissions when people see the real thing vs. reprints. Even though lease rates are very cheap right now, I just couldn't swing the time commitment to man the place, so I cancelled the whole thing. Hopefully the future will open the opportunity again.

Take care!
Linda

Final portrait
 

Please see Linda's finished portrait of Derk in the Unveilings section.