Untitled

[Mike McCarty]

first paint detailed with the goal of understanding how to model the face.

Beautiful painting Holly,

I think I understand your complaint. I find myself somewhere along this same evolutionary ladder. I was always drawn toward the very painterly approach, but, I never had the courage, or self confidence, to touch it and leave it alone.

I wonder, and I have no basis for this other than my own experience and the comments of you and others, if the great "painterly" artists did not take this same evolutionary path. I find more and more that after I have established the form and I am confident with my direction, I am then able to create brush strokes and just just let them be. But those strokes are placed on top of a painting that already exists. They are not the first strokes.

It's as if I first had to paint the molecule of the eye, the mouth etc., before I could proceed. I've now moved on to painting a collection of molecules all at once, maybe theres hope. Of course there's always the chance that we may end up exactly where we think we want to be, only to find that we really don't like it there at all, and start working our way back down the ladder (or would it be up the ladder?) If that's true, at least we'll be heading to a place that we understand.

I think it also has a lot to do with becoming attuned to your palette. What I mean is that in any given session there comes a time (not the first 30 min.) when you fully understand where your colors are, exactly what your mixes consist of. I think this facilitates the ability to place that perfect color / value on the canvas and just let it be. For me this indicates that painting only in short bursts of time, instead of longer sessions, can be counterproductive.

[Jim Riley]

I agree with the previous comments and would add that the contrast between hair and background continues across the top of the head and to the upper right without much change. The same good treatment of "edges" that Marvin noted are not evident along this hairline and this tends to flatten the outer hairline. I also would recommend a change to the highlights on the hair. The color on my screen shows them to be too close to the background in color and value and give me the feeling that the background is showing through. I also agree that you did a very good job on this painting.

The "painterly" techniques question could take us a long way from this critiques thread but briefly I will note that much of the successful "painterly" work we admire comes from artists who thoroughly know the craft and most of the critical elements of a good painting and they are no less necessary in this style. It's easy to find careless and sloppy work but the best work takes no less time and effort than conventional realism.

[Holly Snyder]

Hi Mike,

In a new book out about Philip de Laszlo entitled "A Brush with Grandeur", they showed several of his early works, including a self-portrait. I don't have the book anymore, but in my opinion his first works were more modeled and tighter, with shorter, blended strokes. They didn't have the beautiful loose, confident brushwork of his later portraits. Also the coloring of his early self-portrait was bland compared to the rich color of his later work. So I do think he (as one example of a master painter) evolved into his looser style after learning the human form in color and what works in a painting and what doesn't.

I also agree that it's much easier to know your palette. I'm still largely experimenting with different colors, however. Something David Leffel said in one of his videos really hit home for me recently. He said that (paraphased) it didn't matter if you match the exact color on a photo or model. You may not be able to get that exact color from your palette. Just use the colors on your palette to depict the topography of the subject, (values and edges) and it will always look like the person.

Jim,

Thank you for pointing the background and hair treatment out. I also think that when one learns the craft and critical elements, they can be confident and fast in their paintings. Again with Philip de Laszlo (sorry I'm not too versed on other artists), they said he was much more prolific than Sargent, and painted something like 3000 portraits in his lifetime!

Cheers,

Holly

[Chris Saper]

Holly,

This is lovely!

I have very little to add to the comments already made - I would probably desaturate the yellows in the forehead a little. I think you have painted the subleties of temperature very well.

The only other thing is a Peggy Baumgaertner tip, regarding the blue of her eyes. When the iris color is painted mainly with blue ( like Ultramarine) pigment, the iris can seem to 'float' in front of the picture plane that contains the whites of the eyes. Peggy uses mainly Ivory black plus a little white ( which still is a cool bluish color) to create the feel of a blue eye.

I try to cut the saturation of light eyes as much as possible without losing the sense of their color, and leave the highest saturation and darkest value right underneath the highlight.

That being said, this portrait is ready for a frame, a nail and a hammer! Great job.

[Holly Snyder]

Thank you Chris for the comments and tips.

Regards,

Holly

[Linda Brandon]

Hi Holly,

I also really like this sensitively executed portrait. If you like this type of background (I do. How would you describe it? painterly-mottled?) you may be interested in how John Ennis handles them, too.

[Holly Snyder]

Geez, what happened while I was away?

Rick,

Thank you for your kind comments.

Ilaria,

When you paint edges from life what you should or should not blur just comes to your eyes as soon as you look for it. The way colours are interwoven, how one colour is found on both sides of an edge, these are things that will not appear in a photograph, you'll have to make them up.

I am really looking forward to seeing this for myself. Your post is very timely for me. I have been trying to speed up in working from photos (on my monitor) so that I will be able to paint from life. Yesterday I did my first alla prima portrait, and I think I am getting closer... Nice start on your portrait, I hope you'll post it when it's done.

Linda,

This is also making me think that I am a terribly subjective painter - I'm looking for what I like best about a subject, and I'm emphasizing it, or else I'm tweaking the painting to make somehing even more beautiful in my own judgment. When you work from a photograph you have only the judgment of the photograph.

Isn't that called artistic license? That's where the fun is. When you get to interpret the subject how you like. When I look at my photographs, I usually see one small thing here or there I'd like to change, but can't. With the model there, it would be much, much easier.

Mike,

I would not presume to denigrate painting from life. I just think each should be celebrated for the good they offer. I do get slightly agitated when only the worst of photography is held up as the only comparative.

I agree, they're invaluable. How many portrait painters today paint solely from life? People don't have time. And the information one can get from the higher res. cameras today is amazing. What I'm looking forward to seeing in life is what Ilaria brought up, edges and little color nuances. Those things always take much fudging when working from photos.

Thank you Cynthia.

Marvin,

As you know de Laszlo engaged his sitter's in conversation the whole time he was painting them, in order to feel them out, judge their character. He made them comfortable, and was said to always make a friend, whereas Sargent was said to have made enemies (that's neither here nor there, I just thought it was interesting).

I agree with you that it's important to try and capture the sitter's spirit, and their eyes, as it's said that they are the window to a person's soul. I agree too, that with a photograph it can all to easily become more about getting those features exactly in line with the photograph, than about capturing the person's spirit. Of course correct drawing is paramount to creating the person on canvas in the first place.