Graduation portrait

[AlpineAirbrush]

Here's a portrait that I did today for my 17 yr. old daughter. I decided to take one of her graduation pics and try a portrait. I tried to go for the look I saw in A.D.'s "Twilight", but I don't think I've quite got it yet. :(

Also I think I'll leave the portrait work to the good Professor Tim. ;) These are so hard to get just right. Maybe I just need to take it a little slower , I don't know.

Anywho here's the orig. ref. photo and my atempt at "Twilight Graduation"

[HF AIRBRUSH]

hey kevin,
don't be so hard on yourself....as first portrait is this not even bad..
i like it..... :clap:

henk

[Colorfast]

Kevin:
It's beautiful. Don't stop now. Do another one. You're on a roll.
I just got on for a minute at 4 a.m. to see what I have been missin' and I see this. Very good job.
Dave

[ADCook]

Kevin,

Don't you dare give up. Never give up. The portrait of your daughter is an excellent first try at a monochromatic painting. You know, if it were too easy it wouldn't be any fun. Portraits are challenging.

I doubt the good Professor Tim's first portrait was his best. I know mine sure wasn't. I dread the day that one resurfaces.

On your next one try to get a little more tonal range so that you have dark darks and light lights without using black or white... like color, value is relative. Also, if I could suggest, try a portrait of someone you don't know. Sometimes portraits of loved ones add to the pressure of having to do a good job, which isn't necessarily bad, but at this stage why add the extra stress.

I'll be working on the demo piece soon (just trying to climb out of some previous commitments first). If you have any questions in the interim, let me know. From what I see though you have an excellent start!

A.D.

[prepsage]

Agreed with AD.. I can't paint pics of my family for the life of me! Self portraits are a great way to start off because you're reference is always on you!

[Caterwallin']

Kevin!

I agree with everyone! This is a great first try and don't give up!!!!

Practice, practice, practice!

Nothing is easy at first! We all have to start somewhere!

Sam

[hinddee29]

Kevin
This is very good. Like everyone else don't give up. Everyone you do
will get better and better. Also I agree with AD about going family members.
I tried draw a pic of my grandpa, wife, and son they all ended in the trash.
I just couldn't get it right to me. The wife said they looked good, but I didn't think so.

I want to try a pin-up or portrait with the AB, but I don't think I'm ready to try. I guess I'll never know if I don't give it a shot.

did you do this all free and or did you mask and shield it?

Shane

[kdkbrown]

Kevin,

I have to agree with everyone else in this forum. It is very stressful to paint a portrait of someone you know. I think you did a nice job on this. You will continue to get better with each attempt.

[AlpineAirbrush]

Wow, what a great bunch of folks you all are !! :clap: Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. It's really fun to post things you're happy with, so I wasn't sure what to expect when I posted a dissapointment.

(Deep breath...........sigh!......) O.K., I'll try some more, but I may need a few days to get over this one first. :rolleyes:

Well, things I've learned :

1. Shouldn't have used black in the violet to achieve the twilight look.

2. When things began to look wrong I kept painting to try to get them to look right.Yep, Sam, I was in the hole and just kept digging!

3. Picked a subject way to close to home. No amount of talent could paint in all the beauty that I see in my daughter. (Yes she's single, No she can't date until she's 40 !! )

I'll be working on the demo piece soon (just trying to climb out of some previous commitments first). If you have any questions in the interim, let me know.

Looking forward to the demo! You mention tonal qualities in monochrome. Do you achieve these by simply controlling the amount of paint sprayed, or do you actually adjust for darker colors (maybe adding, or underpainting with blue?)

did you do this all free and or did you mask and shield it?

First I projected the image to the illus. board. Then I shielded the figure with contact paper and freehanded the background. Then I removed that and freehanded what was supposed to be my daughter.

One day, when I get better, I'll look back at this and say " Jeez, no wonder I didn't like it!!! LOL !

[HF AIRBRUSH]

hmmmm...not dating until she's 40?....damn...i'll be over sixty then...hahahaha

you got a pretty daughter....but painting one of you children is very hard...
ive tryed to paint my son max with a dog....and im not really happy with it....somehow the picture misses something.....and im sure you got that problem as well....i think that you miss the things you only can see in your daughter and don't find it in the painting...thats the love of a father for his child...

henk

[pr1130]

hey kevin,

I must say I agree as well. I think you have done a great job and I have no doubt that you will be painting the portraits you envision in no time at all.

not so sure about a self portrait though. I think if I did one of those, I'd scare myself to death in the middle of it! LOL

Peter

[Caterwallin']

Ah, yes Kevin, I have found myself in that hole too many times! LOL!
Look at what you have learned already! For me, my art is a nothing more than a collection of practice runs at what I perceive to be the real thing! I doubt I will ever get there, but I won't give up trying!

I think that painting your family or those closest to you will extrude your innermost passion. These paintings will often be your most beautiful!

Sam

[ProfessorGreibowitz]

Kevin,

Great job! Without knowing how long you spent and the details of your technique, I can only say that you did a great job for your first portrait. My first one turned out pretty nicely (not photorealistic though) but I did it very large (22" x 28") and for my first attempt I was actually really happy with it and you should be proud of this one!


Mixing black with a color will not only darken it but dull it. That is not always undesirable but AD is right. More value range = more realism. He is also right saying my first portrait was not my best! My last and most recent one is my best.


Keep the faith! :eek: You have some real skills and I encourage you to follow your desires and come back and show us where it's leading you.

Tim

[ADCook]

[QUOTE=AlpineAirbrush]You mention tonal qualities in monochrome. Do you achieve these by simply controlling the amount of paint sprayed, or do you actually adjust for darker colors (maybe adding, or under-painting with blue?)
QUOTE]

It's a bit of both. For the monochromatic pieces (like Twilight), I mix three colors (sometimes four). In this case blue-violet (my medium color, which I always mix first), a darker version (by adding more deep violet to the blue-violet) and a lighter version (by adding my blue-violet to white). All these colors are opaque colors as opposed to transparents.

First, I start by painting with the medium blue-violet color, and when I've painted all I can with that color I move to the lighter color, then the medium again and the lighter... back and forth to work the shapes and create a very smooth creamy look. When I have it where I want it, I start working in the darker colors for serious contrast, and finally, I go back with the medium color to kick back the darks so they're not too intense. This process is very forgiving and allows for easy corrections since you can work and rework an area... one of the advantages of opaque colors (you couldn't do this process with transparent colors).

Sounds like more of a process than it is. Twilight, for example, went pretty fast. I'm guessing I have all of 50-60 hours into it (drawing time included)

A.D.

[AlpineAirbrush]

Thanks, A.D., my wonderful wife, Virginia, just let me in on her little secret so I guess I'll see you in a couple of days and you can show me how!!! :D :D :D :D :D ...........WaaaWhooooo.

[ADCook]

Kevin,

Looking forward to you joining us.

A.D.