challenge CHATTER - 2013

what do you think of my portrait? :)

FRED, good for you trying a new media. You have made a great start with them and as Sammy says wonderful skies. You can use your WC as an underpainting with them which will give the pastels a richer look. You might like to try a 200 grit Uart paper with your pastel pencils or Pastelmat is a good surface for them but more expensive. Both will take WC if you tape it down first. Anyway see how you get on with them. Nice work!

Witnessblumpkin, what may we call you? Welcome to the forum. Your pencil portrait is really good. Good values and drawing skills. You might look at the woman on the right ( our right) at the middle of her nose and the middle of her mouth they seem slightly off centre. I hope you will join us in our monthly challenge and post more of ypur work. We are all really friendly here. :)

Gerri, thank you for your really nice comment on my portrait of Howard. I hoped to do more of him today but it was not to be. I really enjoyed sketching your references this month.

Witnessblumpkin (name pls?) - I've enlarged it to see it better and some things strike me. It's quite nice overall - you should be proud, esp. if you caught a likeness. The woman on the left looks cut off in an awkward spot where the shoulder begins - better to run it off the page than cut it,  esp. with such a hard edge. The light ring around the figures don't really help - distracting. I'd say figure out what value you wish next to them at diff. areas and run that value background right up to them. A crisp white backgound would have been good  but now a dark one is worth considering. These figures are nice enough that you want to really show them off with a great background to make them pop. The nose on the front young woman looks off kilter- check the symmetry and also your shadow/s on it...wouldn't take too much if you agree it could use an adjustment. The end of her chin looks a tad pointed to one side...just chk. it also. The eyes look great. Super nice job on the hair texture! Like how you shaded the braid.  Hope my comments were not too much.  Hope to see more of your work. Welcome!

Well as I said I did not get to work on Howard today because i was handed a 5 x 5 canvas to paint an oil for the loca lArt Group  fundraiser. It is something we do every year but they were late getting them to us this year so I had to do it today! I am not sure if the pot is as wonky as it looks or if it was the fact that the painting was propped up on a shelf above my head to dry! Will look again on Saturday. It has been a year since I last did and oil and I am out of practice and putting wet yellow on wet is not easy! Still it was fun to do.

5x5 oil

Jen sounds like a fun way to raise money and it must make money if you keep doing it.  The pitcher does seem to lean a bit the table must not be level.

Hi everyone - This is a bit weird. I received an email today from 'artistsdaily - automated,' containing the link 'all media photo challenge - the new.'

In it was my pastel of my grandchild that I posted at the beginning of the January challenge, and what i wrote then, but instead of my name at the top it had 'anonymous.'

I didnt post this. Does anybody know what this is about?

GERRI, you are right! It must be the table that is wonky!! I'll see about correcting it on Saturday. Yes it does make money. They have a dinner for which the guests pay then they line everyone in front of the wall of five by five paintings and everyone runs for their favourite! NZJEN, I don't know why you got the e-mail you did. If you get anything else you might report it to Courtney.

Witnessblumpkin, welcome to the All Media Photo Challenge.  Your portraits are lovely.  The young ladies look pleasant and happy.  I like the vignette idea but as Kim said, be careful that the crop enhances the artwork.  I also was distracted by the halo all the way around the images.  Did you use pencil to darken the background?  If so, it isn't difficult to bring the pencil up against the images thus eliminating the halo.  I also noticed the nose on the girl on the right but am aware that smiling can pull facial features into odd positions.  I suggest that you carefully check her nose against whatever reference you used.  Thank you for sharing this portrait with us.  I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Jen, the sunflower painting is wonderful.  I love the bright colors of the flowers and the copper pot as well as the loose, free strokes.  The sunflowers look really nice.  The background is pretty on the upper left but I find myself wondering about the greenery on the bottom left.  It seems to be just hanging above the table.  Yes, the pot does seem to be leaning and I'm sure you can straighten that.  This was a good day's work and should draw a lot of buyers.  Good luck with the fund raiser.  Be sure to let us know how it goes.

NZJen, I have no explantion for the email you received. Very strange!

 

Witnessblumpkin - One thing I thought of this morn. which may help - if from a ref. photo, try looking at the nose, etc. as the photo is upside down, then do your art upside down to match. Much more objective view.

JEN  - I LOVE this. The colors, softness, style, how you composed it...wish I were there to grab it, since it'd my favorite!

Jen, I straightened you painting on the left side and the post looks fine now.  The problem may be with the photography and not the painting.  I think a darker and larger shadow may benefit it.

Kim, if we were both at Jen's fund raiser, we would have to fight over this one.

 

 

Sammy and Kim play nice now no fighting!:) thanks for the good words and for straightening the picture out. I just snapped a quick picture as I was leaving and it was just leaning at an angle on a shelf overhead. It may well be off though.. There was no shadow in the reference but it seemed to need something to ground it so I added one. Not sure it is in the right place as the light seems to be coming from front right. There was greenery all around and what looked like ivy coming over the table. It is so wet I may do more harm than good messing with it but will see what I can do. I really don't like having to rush projects.

Jen I love this little painting! I'd buy it for sure! Just such a nice size too, like a jewel.

JEN - Forgot to ask...if your signature is so close to the edge or if just in the photo. Wouldn't want a frame to cover it. Have fun at the event.