Somewhere in Italy

frujin · #1 04-14-2012, 05:14 PM

MY IMAGE(S):

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Title: Somewhere in Italy
Year Created:
Medium: Acrylic
Surface: Canvas
Dimension: 40x30cm
Allow digital alterations?: Yes!

MY COMMENTS:
I tried this with bih fear .. was hard for me.

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
Please, any critics are very welcome. What is wrong? What can be better?

christylynneharris · #2 04-14-2012, 11:16 PM

Love stair case and the doorway. The color is balanced nicely. The top left window seems crooked, (might be actually be) Really Beautiful, nice work

tgsloth · #3 04-15-2012, 08:49 AM

Yes, window is clearly crooked when compared to second window. But otherwise, it's lovely, particularly the foliage. I also really like the limited palette which is essentially playing red against green (its complement). The few areas of purple might be better moved towards green for continued simplicity. Also the strong light on the stairs is probably too strong when compared to the light on other elements. Glazing it down to reduce the value should help.

frujin · #4 04-15-2012, 12:48 PM

Aaaah, the light on the stairs! That was that was poking my eyes! Thanks! ... The window also .. agree ... is crooked! (wasn't supposed to be _that_ crooked) ...

tony1 · #5 04-16-2012, 07:57 AM

Nice one, agree with all the comments. Additionally, I would tone down the blue trees at the top of the stairs to recede them. Just a thought. Nice brushwork.

tj84 · #6 04-16-2012, 01:33 PM

Nice,
Agree with others also.
One other thing, stairways seems to fade off and the tree branches show, not sure if stairs wrap around a wall or where it goes?

Margaretta · #7 04-16-2012, 01:56 PM

Lovely foliage glowing in the sun.

A lot of these old buildings are wonky due to the materials reacting in the hot sunshine and it is part of their charm so it is difficult to tell if your perspective is out or whether the window really was like this.

Logic tells me that the bottom of the stairs should be wider than the top as the bottom is nearer. But.....it could be a querk of the stairs.
I like conundrums and I like this painting.

Aires · #8 04-16-2012, 04:10 PM

A charming Italian villa, we know it shouldn't read like new and would lose its charm and believabiliy if everything was in sync. Other than the upper window, the left side of the stair wall bothers me.. is the front edg (what would be a post were it of wood) really curved outward or should it be straight like its opposite on the right? Thanks for sharing, I really like the charm of this old world building that has been softened by time.

frujin · #9 04-17-2012, 03:03 AM

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am posting the reference photo. It was rainy, but I would imagined it to be more sunny. To be honest, I had difficulties grasping the geometry of the reference as well. Add to this my lack of experience ..and voila - conundrum! .. haha

..

If anyone wants to try would be lovely to see how it can be done. Only have in mind - this is picture I found on the net - no idea who is the author.

tony1 · #10 04-17-2012, 08:04 AM

Seeing the reference photo I want to change my previous comments. Based on your painting I thought the stairs continued up straight more or less and the foliage was in the distance. I see here that's not the case. So leave the back foliage as is.

I would spend a lot if time sketching the scene until you are comfortable with the geometry. Even as an exercise it's still worth it.

I can see how you got the idea that the window is tilted. Sometimes I've found I have to ignore what I see in the photo and draw the perspective as I think it should be. This way you won't give the impression you mis-drafted the window.

Years ago I did a stairway scene, several times. But before I started painting I made sure, through sketches, that I understood the geometry (perspective).

I think you have a lot of good things in the piece and it maybe worth trying another rendition.

eyecandy2 · #11 04-17-2012, 02:46 PM

The photo is beautiful and I like what tony said. Good advice. You're error with the window was one of not getting the prospective right. I like the overall cool colors of the photo. A green cast seems to overlay the entire scene with the orange or reddish stairway to pop the green. Don't give up on this painting. It could be a winner.

tj84 · #12 04-17-2012, 03:08 PM

Oh I see from the photo that the background foliage is vines of some sort and hanging over the back stairway wall.
If you can paint in more of that back wall over the foliage/vines I think it will clarify the stair area for viewers.

For the window , I would just straighten up the top & bottom angles just a bit and call it good.

The free, loose brush work is very nice.

crazywoman53 · #13 04-18-2012, 10:44 AM

Some very good comments already made. I also think you have a good painting going and so what I add is probably for the next painting.. You fell into the slave for the photo ditch. We all do it. In this case the steps bring you right down and then you fall out of the painting. I think this whole area would have read better were you to have added a landing ground. Let the viewer step into the painting and then take them up the stairs or around to the window. It is generally not a good compositional practice to have anything growing out of the bottom of the painting directly. Give it an inch or so and then start those kind of things. It sure makes me want to visit Italy though. Nice work!

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