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Thread: Titled "#56 Teresa".

  1. #1
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    Titled "#56 Teresa".

    An added thought I never thought of myself as a portrait painter but the of my majority of the last 15 paintings could be considered portrait .Titled "#56 Teresa".Click image for larger version. 

Name:	#56 teresa  jb mom.jpg 
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ID:	97654

  2. #2
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    Certainly has a distinct portrait vibe. You got some key distinguishing bits that would refer well back to the subject.
    "Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream

  3. #3
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    I was having problems with facial tones used too many colors, blending made it look like mud. So I simplified my palette and it turned out better then possible. It actual looks like the subject. Here is the ref pic I used.Name:  jessicia mom.jpg
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by shellcrackerjr View Post
    I was having problems with facial tones used too many colors, blending made it look like mud. So I simplified my palette and it turned out better then possible. It actual looks like the subject. Here is the ref pic I used.Name:  jessicia mom.jpg
Views: 1013
Size:  42.5 KB
    Yeah, that's understandable. Taking color expressiveness off the table makes it far easier to focus on shapes and volume. Many teachers start out oil painting courses where the students are limited to a single color, like sepia or burnt sienna or blue (you name it -- whatever color goes pretty much all the way to very dark so you can get the full value range because it's done transparently using the white of the canvas for the highlights.) The point of it also is that it creates an underpainting if desired to develop the painting into a color piece.

    I have to make a comment on the selection of your reference. You picked a very difficult photo because it's generally overall dim. It's fine if you're focusing more on the posture and the overall composition. But if you're intention is to build up volume in the face for example, there's not a lot to work with tonally. If you approach it this way, you would do well to mind your values because changes are going to be very subtle. And using a lot of different colors to turn a shape wouldn't probably work.

    I love the photo, just mentioning the challenges associated with this kind of lighting that you may not have anticipated. This would be challenging for most people to paint. Coming from an illustration background I am aware of contrast because subtleties were almost always a losing proposition owing to printing being clunky back then. Now, it's somewhat different, but those old lessons about selecting photos to paint from still work. Volume is created by how the light and shadow define form.

    Keep painting! You're doing great.
    Last edited by D Akey; 06-16-2019 at 04:20 AM.
    "Not a bit is wasted and the best is yet to come. . ." -- remembered from a dream

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