Adam

[llawrence]

My first large male nude is just about completed - down to nitpicking. This is oil on canvas, 24x48" - pretty big for me:



A disclaimer: This painting has been nearly impossible to photograph, I've tried just about everything I can think of with my current setup. So the colors are considerably corrected in Photoshop. Even so, I'm a bit chagrined at the poor quality of the photos.

Nevertheless, a couple of closer-uppers:





The model was from a pose book. This has been a challenge and a lesson - all the life studies I've done didn't quite prepare me for this. As I'll probably keep pecking at it a little over the weekend, I am definitely open to feedback. I'll crosspost this to The Figure. Thanks for looking!

[lovin art]

Ha laughin at your thoughts about the Nit picking thing Louis ;D... I love the Pose , and I think you have some great color tones working here in this , I feel you could push those darker passages even more in this ... and for me saying this , from the point of view of looking at the Nude from Life as Ive done also , Im guessing in my own mind the lighting for this type of thiNg really pushes this point home if you get me ... which you probably dont ...lol... BUT you certainly have lots of great shapes and forms happening in this to me ....

[mariposa-art]

I think this is wonderful—beautiful. The colors, the modeling, all beautiful. I don't know how I'd deal with a painting that big and with that amount of rendering—certainly a major undertaking! Just beautiful.

There is something that my eye keeps coming back to, and that's the lower leg on the right (our right) side. The calf somehow seems wrong (the shadowing makes it look flatter?) and something about the shadow under the buttocks on that side. And something about the stance of that leg, like maybe it needs to be leaning "out" a little more to make it look like he's leaning on that leg more? I have no doubt that the reference was like that (because everything else in the painting looks and feels right) so I don't know what to tell you. It could be just me, that I'm seeing this.

LOVING the colors, loving the additions of brown and green to the skin, the painterly way that you rendered the floor and the background. Loving the way the head turned out . . . really a beautiful job overall.

[llawrence]

Sandra, Mariposa, thank you!

You've both given valuable feedback, and I thank you for it. Y'all are spot-on with your observations. Sometimes you stare at a painting for so long, you can't see it any more and need some fresh eyes. Along with the feedback from The Figure forum, I know what needs fixing now.

[sidbledsoe]

Looks real good louis, the flesh tones and musculature in particular.

[Dana Design]

I do think that the lower legs from the knees down are too short. Shouldn't they be the same length from the bottom of hip to knee?

http://drawinglab.evansville.edu/body.html

[kate252]

what a peach of a painting!

[llawrence]

Sid, Dana, Kate, thank you.

Dana, the problem is that his knee is bent (the right one), and his lower leg is foreshortened a bit, with the heel coming out toward us. I was trying to maintain a value hierarchy coming down from the shoulder, and so I didn't do the lights on that lower leg sufficiently to show the angle. I'll be fixing that!

[Keith Russell]

The right heel is "lower than" the left heel, which means that the right foot is closer to the viewer, which means that the right leg is bent backwards, which (seems to) mean that he can't possibly be standing upright...

[Toril]

If his right leg is bent, and that's the one he is carrying his weight with, it would seem like a very forced and uncomfortable pose?

[llawrence]

Thanks for the feedback Kieth and Toril. Here is a pic of the pose from the side, to show the position of the legs and feet:



I suppose now I should never have attempted pose like this; but it didn't occur to me that it would be a problem. I'll be doing what I can to fix it.

[Toril]

I guess with so much muscle, he can stand like that for a long time... I get tired just looking at it, ! It's a nice pose, maybe just unexpected? And I can't imagine how I would even begin to convey a forward bend in a knee seen directly from behind, that must be tricky!

[TinaC]

Gosh you picked a tricky pose, capturing that bended leg is going to be tricky and I look forward to seeing how you pull it off. My first thought when I saw this was it reminded me of Michael Newberrys work (which I love BTW) and interestingly enough he is currently working on Adam too if you check out his blog. Really nicely painted Louis, I do like your style.

[Mares Rex]

It's a beautiful piece for sure. Shows off his muscles really well.

[Sana Almimar]

This is a very good work ....almost perfect !!!!