Double portrait

[Sharon Knettell]

Ilaria,

Children, the dilemma, lovely subjects, lousy models.

I hate to be a fly in the ointment of all these lovely comments, but I am having trouble reading this. I thought it was a truncated carpet. If you have to describe what they are sitting on for it to make sense, then it is not working pictorially. There is too much distraction between the two heads as well.

I have found this works, tho' expensive. I have a large blowup of the pose set up next to the child. I call the child "bad Ashley" for example, and the picture "good Ashley". The kids get the joke, they don't sit much better, but you can grab the color from them and the drawing from the photo.

I did the little girl on my site in the ballet costume that way.

Also, that foot opn the left looks wrong.

[Joan Breckwoldt]

Hi Ilaria,

This is a lively portrait and I love the way you're painted these two charming children. Since there is a lot of discussion about what the girls are sitting on, I thought I would add that I thought they were sitting on an ottoman. I had to look twice, but I realized it was something raised off of the floor. I think the problem lies with the area to the left of the ottoman. It reads as a horizontal surface, when in reality it's the SIDE of the ottoman so it should read as a vertical surface. If you can show this side to be more like the side of the ottoman, I think it would easily read that the girls are sitting on a boxlike structure (ottoman, or whatever those designers call it!).

This is just my two cents worth and the idea about changing the (our) left side of the ottoman is just what I would try if it were my painting. Believe me, I'm only right about half the time when I try stuff on my paintings, but I would try it and see how it works.

Joan

[Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco]

Joan, Sharon, Alexandra, Allan, Linda,Thank you very much to all of you, this is really so useful !!
I think I will end up with a new layer as there is reworking needed a bit everywhere!
It is fantastic to be able to ask for help to people that really understand so well what it is all about! And very good to be whipped and not get lazy about going really all the way through.

Sharon that is actually a very good trick, I think I can do it even cheaply: I normally print my reference in B&W to scale, using the poster setting on the printer and taping A4 sheets together. I can then have a good smaller print for finer details.
Also recently I have been drawing my son with a mirror behind me, so that he could see both himself and my drawing and listening to an audiobook. That worked quite well to make him sit still.
Thanks again, I am back at the easel
Ilaria

[Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco]

I think this is a little better: I reworked some parts. I could not bring myself to paint over the bookshelf, also because it has those two glass vases which are a family object and is the only thing that makes this house their house, also I wouldn't know what to paint on top.
Thanks again to all for your help
Ilaria

[Alexandra Tyng]

Ilaria, I think this family is going to be very happy. By the way, I like what you did with the side of the leather cushion!