Home › Forums › Explore Media › Pastels › Soft Pastel Studio and Gallery › Help!!!
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February 19, 2020 at 3:25 pm #484212
Ok I am having so much trouble with this. I need help badly. I’m about to ditch it.
LuvyFebruary 19, 2020 at 5:10 pm #949865Still trying to fix this Any improvement?
LuvyFebruary 19, 2020 at 8:39 pm #949866Another try. Plus getting a good photo is hard.
LuvyFebruary 19, 2020 at 11:24 pm #949891Hi Luvy.
Your problem appears to be that you are drawing what you think is there instead of what is.
For instance the eye on the right.You have the crease above the eye the same width all the way across. If you look carefully you will see that it only goes from the centre of the eye over to the right.
The same with the overall shape you have the top and the bottom the same curved shape. It almost flat on the bottom compared to the top.
The shape of the iris you have as square instead of rounded.
Perhaps turning your source picture upside down when you are copying may help to switch off what you think you should see..February 20, 2020 at 5:35 am #949886Good start Luvy. Kiffin has good suggestions. You might also try looking at the painting via a mirror. The reverse image can help you see errors more clearly. There are two things I see that you might want to address.
The following are my suggestions. As the artist you choose what to do or not do.
First is that the distance between her eye on our right and the edge of her face/start of her ear is too big. This makes her face too wide. I think the size and distance between her eyes is correct so they do not need to be moved.
Second is that not only does her head tilt to our right which you have captured very well but the photograph is taken from slightly above her which causes a foreshortening which I think is quite adorable. Your painting looks more like a straight on view. To correct this, shorten her forehead, lengthen her nose slightly, decrease the distance between the bottom of the nose and mouth and shorten the distance between mouth and chin.
Best of luck.February 20, 2020 at 7:58 am #949867Thanks you guys. I’ve redone the eyes over and over. I had them too close and moved them. The nose I’ve done over and over. The mouth is driving me crazy. I’ll take a couple days away. I look at photos of the painting and that usually helps but your suggestion are a bigger help as always. I’ve been on wet canvas and learned a lot over the many years for other artists. Thanks for the input. I truly appreciate the help.
LuvyFebruary 20, 2020 at 9:36 am #949868Well Let me know. There’s still something wrong. Not getting the tilt right. Lower the forehead tried to fix eyes. Not sure about them. Made the nose a little longer. Made the sides of the face narrower. So what am I missing on getting the tile forward? Don’t mind the color. I can’t get a decent photo of it.
LuvyFebruary 20, 2020 at 11:32 am #949881Hi, Luvy,
I am struggling with two individual portraits of my granddaughters at the moment, so I understand your frustration. My only suggestion at this point is to check the amount of white in the eyes…. seems a bit too much. Pink in the corner of each eye. And the white of the eye is not truly white, but a light value of another color other than white. Also, take a ruler and measure the size of your pupils in the eyes. They seem a bit larger in your painting than in the photo. I think your last photo shows a LOT of improvement. Don’t give up!! I have decided to put mine away for a couple of weeks…. where I cannot see them at all…. and then I’ll be able to look at them with fresh eyes. Best wishes to you!!!
MikeFebruary 20, 2020 at 2:10 pm #949869I’ve taken your advice. And I’m getting so much pastels on I can’t change much more. I can work a little more but think I’ll put it away for a day or two. So aggravating. My last portrait went so easy LOL Thanks for your suggestions
LuvyFebruary 20, 2020 at 6:57 pm #949870I pitched it. Tried some new ideas and it just has no more room for pastels
LuvyFebruary 20, 2020 at 7:56 pm #949889Oh I hate that you pitched it Luvy. It was getting so close. One thought about portraits that might help is to drop plumb lines at the edges of each feature and see what it intersects. Do this on your photo and your painting and study. The plumb lines can be dropped from the corner of each eye, the corners of the mouth and the edge of the sides of the nose. It really helps.
February 20, 2020 at 10:44 pm #949871Mamalynn. I was measuring everything LOL It was the tilt of her head moving things so much you could see where something was before.
LuvyFebruary 21, 2020 at 5:53 am #949887Sorry to hear that you pitched your painting. The changes you made did improve the likeness. I hope that you will give it another go. It is such an adorable reference photo.
I think that portraiture is the most difficult of subjects to paint, especially when it is of a family member or friend. Minor changes can make or break a likeness. I love the challenge of creating a portrait and admittedly at times agonize over it too.
Best of luck if you decide to give it another go.February 21, 2020 at 7:56 am #949882I hope you will give it another go, Luvy!! I suppose you tried using a stiff bristle brush to scrape off some of the pastel from your painting?? Often you can remove quite a bit… and wind up getting back the tooth! It was getting SO close!!
Best wishes!
MikeFebruary 21, 2020 at 8:26 am #949872Thanks Bob. Franglais. Oh I tried that. I work on suede board. I got the pastels down some but when I would try going over it, it would show the old under it. Since it’s more of a board and not paper. I think it leaves like an impression. It indents the suede board.
Luvy -
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