[garyartista]

Really nice job!  That hand jumps out at me.  To me it seems too large and takes away from the rest of the lovely drawing.  The shadow above your lips might be too dark.  What do you want me to focus on?   Left hand and hair are the most attractive to me.   Hope that helps!

[garyartista]

Looks like a very good job.  Couple of things that occur to me.  Shadow around nose seems a bit heavy.  Hair on top seems quite different from hair on side.  Perhaps your hair is actually almost shaved on the sides.  There’s a heavy line extending from the glasses  that seems out of place.  In some ways the drawing is stylized, e.g. the beard, the flat plane of the forehead, the ear maybe, in others not.  Hope that helps.

[garyartista]

That photo shows more pink in her skin than the painting

[garyartista]

Good job!  The thing I notice is the sharp delineation of his left collar bone.  Needs more modeling there.   His right shoulder where it joins the arm seems too sharp an angle.  Below his left ear towards the should there is a bulge that does not look natural, perhaps too sharply delineated.  But really looks quite good overall.  Hope that helps.

[garyartista]

[garyartista]

I added some value to the darker side of the hair. with a wash of raw umber and cad yellow.  I think it adds a bit of dimension.  This is a better photo than the last, lighting conditions better.  I might try to reduce the value in her short and the background on that side.

[garyartista]

good points.  it is a tricky one.  Just such a gorgeous photo of her I could not resist.  The painting’s values are hard to capture in a photo without studio lighting.  That’s another struggle to deal with.  Thanks  for you thoughts!

 

g

[garyartista]

I did not use that nice S curve in the hair.  It does not exist in the reference that I can see.  I was unable to see how to do it.

 

 

[garyartista]

I feel good about this as a painting.  Perhaps someone can point out additional flaws or ways to improve.  I have found limits to shading-  I add it and it makes her look older.  A better painter could find a way to deal with this.  As to accuracy I think I am very close but not 100% of the way there, am stumped as to how to get it closer.  Perhaps too much black on the back of the shirt.  Perhaps I should have used a very dark brown.

 

[garyartista]

good suggestions, thanks!

 

I’ve changed the nose and mouth a bit since, and put a dark edge in along the right side of her face and where her hair starts, which is also narrowed a bit.  Your other suggestions should help.  I think I am 90% there.  Mouth looks right to me but will look again.  Bangs and showing skin under the hair on forehead good ideas.  My rendition looks a bit puffier than the reference.  Not sure why yet.

 

gary

[garyartista]

Thanks.

 

I’d already added quite a bit of green to the hair and darker.  I tried some green for shadows  Didn’t work well.  That nose is giving me fits.  I’ve adjusted the angle and length and the turn down several times.  There is one or more minor errors or interpretations somehow combining to make the appearance a bit off.

[garyartista]

[garyartista]

Great insights, thanks!  Your comments about the reference are extra helpful to my understanding of the challenges.  This is a relative and it is the best photo I have of her, which is why I chose it.  I will just have to overcome the obstacles.  It is going to become a painting.  I already have the face roughed in and it looks younger than the drawing.  Blending with Conte on sketch paper is difficult and not the best way to deal with that issue.  I am using acrylics, also offering its own challenges when it comes to gradual transitions.  Conte requires such a delicate touch so you can layer tone without imbedding it in the paper which it then in effect stains.

 

cheers

 

gary

[garyartista]

Thanks for the suggestion.  When the shadows made her look too old.  Must be something about how I did them.  Perhaps too roughly done?   Here is the previous draft of the same piece.

[garyartista]

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by garyartista.

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