Home › Forums › Explore Subjects › Portraiture › Portraiture Forum Library Archives › Portrait Challenge – November and December 2010
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November 1, 2010 at 1:22 pm #448426
Greetings!
For this month, I have two different subjects for you to tackle.
1 – The first, is a Master whose work is quite popular here — William-Adolphe Bouguereau (France 1825-1905) — and I am featuring a beautiful painting of his that is in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
2 – Our second subject is a lovely red-haired young lady I know named Mairen, and I have a few photos of her that I’ll post.
1 –
As I’ve had the pleasure to see this Painting by Bouguereau in person, I was able to take some photos of it and will include some details here as well, for those who want to more clearly see his technique. I’ve Photoshopped the photos and other references to adapt the colours better to as I remember them.The painting is called “Crown of Flowers” (en francais: “Parure des champs”) and it was painted in 1884.
(Note: Here is a link to it from the Art Renewal Centre website, though they have a different name for this painting) http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=1074&size=hugeDetails:
Here is another reference of the younger girl’s face that I found online at http://www.wallcoo.com:
Arms/ Hands:
Feet: note how loosely he painted the ground and grass.
Regarding painting as close to how Bouguereau painted as possible, I recommend the writings done by the artist Virgil Elliott. In his book, Traditional Oil Painting (Watson-Guptill, 2007), Virgil has included a section on “The Technique of William-Adolphe Bouguereau,” where he outlines the French Academic Method and includes a well-illustrated step-by-step demonstration. (This was also excerpted in the April 2008 issue of American Artist magazine.)
Virgil Elliott’s website: http://www.virgilelliott.com
2 –
Our second Portrait Challenge subject is Mairen:
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/November 1, 2010 at 1:34 pm #509130Nice pictures Lauren Thank you I ll try Mairen watercolor or gouache do nt know yet
RobertNovember 1, 2010 at 5:19 pm #509084I just lurk here, but I was wondering what is the size of “Crown of Flowers”? There is an amazing amount of detail!
~Melisa
https://www.facebook.com/MelisaMMcCurley
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/melisa-mccurley-3424November 1, 2010 at 8:40 pm #509085“Crown of Flowers” is very large.
According to the ARC website, it’s 163 cm. high – 90 cm. wide…. or 5 ft. 4.17 inches high x 35.43 inches wide.Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/November 1, 2010 at 9:04 pm #509105I’m thinking I may do either Mairen or the crown detail. Very tempting. I need to finish the portrait I’m working on first, but I’d like to do this in gouache.
These are terrific references Lauren. Thanks for all the detail photos!
[FONT=Arial]Judy
"I paint flowers so they will not die." Frieda Kahlo
"Another word for creativity is courage." Matisse
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong you’ll never come up with something original.” Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk.November 2, 2010 at 11:26 am #509154Ooooh , Bougeureau, yummy, and a fantastic redhead (slightly biased as have a hint of the old roux ,moi-meme!!) Tempted, but really trying hard to focus this month, still……………………. lucky youse lot!!
“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” Elbert Hubbard
Jeni Westcott
https://www.facebook.com/JeniWestcottNovember 2, 2010 at 4:50 pm #509133Lauren,
Thanks for great collection for the month challenge.I like the details on the first masterpiece. This will sound funny but I would like to do face and feet as two separate pieces, because I want to focus on face tones in the girl’s portrait , and try toes as I have never done them before. Is it acceptable?Anna.
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"Pray with love - pray as you love - love as you pray. Prayer is your heartbeat in rhythm with His." - Mother AngelicaNovember 3, 2010 at 12:02 am #509086This will sound funny but I would like to do face and feet as two separate pieces, because I want to focus on face tones in the girl’s portrait , and try toes as I have never done them before. Is it acceptable?
Sure!
I think it will be interesting, and seems like a challenge for you. I look forward to seeing what you do here! :thumbsup:Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/November 3, 2010 at 3:44 am #509096Hi! I think I’ll join you. I like one of the shots of Mairen.
C&C ALWAYS!
Donna
November 3, 2010 at 7:59 pm #509166I like those pics of Mairen too…. so here’s my attempt with charcoal and pencils…
added in my journal thread. https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=718061&page=13
November 3, 2010 at 11:01 pm #509087Chuck — congratulations on jumping right in and posting up the first artwork in this month’s challenge!
You have a pretty-good likeness. I also see Mairen’s brother in this drawing.One thing you might want to do — darken and blend that ‘curtain’ of dark under-hair that meets and defines her face along its right side; you will gain more depth, and the face will come forward more.
Cheers, Lauren
https://www.facebook.com/LaurenFosterMacLeod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauren.fosterm/November 4, 2010 at 4:46 pm #509083Nice ones
November 4, 2010 at 11:00 pm #509111November 6, 2010 at 4:43 pm #509102Mairen
Pencil on paper
10x8inchesHere’s my go at Mairen, excellent photos for this months challenge!
I wanted to really work on my drawing for this one. All done free-hand but took time- probably about 3-4 hours. I’m normally guilty of being a bit of a smudger:rolleyes: so wanted to work on a more classical style with hatching marks.
C&C is always welcome:thumbsup:
Ryan
November 7, 2010 at 10:14 am #509097Here’s my stab. Oil on canvas paper, 9×12
. Photo not to good, sorry. If decide to save it, I’ll crop an inch off the top. Thanks for looking! Critique welcome.:)C&C ALWAYS!
Donna
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