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  • #475621
    AllisonR
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        Small 30x30cm study. However, I failed, because after painting my flesh I put in a saturated green background, and it completely overwhelmed the flesh and made it terribly washed out and weak. This makes sense, a large bright green area will overpower a smaller more muted yellow-red area, even if that area has a few very saturated red highlights.

        So I wiped out the background, made it much more dull grey, then grayed all the colors for the clothes as well. I then added the bright red of the flesh into the top of his shirt to help unify the whole and give a reason for the red reflections under the chin. This helped the painting a lot.

        However, I did not accomplish my original goal, which was that this little painting should be a study for a much larger painting that will be called star gazing. That painting will have a very colorful saturated background and then the natural more muted toned face. So the problem will be how to make the neutral face the focal point despite all the colors in the background. ???

        I will have to make another study, and I am not sure how I will proceed. I would like to take a lesson from asian prints where the backgrounds are all busy with patterns and the faces are plain and therefore the faces are still the focal point, due to their plainness. However I am not sure this will help in the style I paint in.

        Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

        http://www.artallison.com/
        #854218

        It looks like your experiments are getting you closer to your goals, Allison.
        All very interesting to read about your processes.

        bethany
        moderator in figures & portraits blogs: artbybethany life-presence
        website www.bethanyart.com
        My inspiration is art... because without art, we would just be stuck with reality. ~Daniel R. Lynch

        #854227

        Great work so far. Using my IPhone I converted your work into a black and white picture. Forget about the colors for now, and focus more on the values, especially on the left side (ours) of the face and compare with the lighted side and you will see the difference. Also give some values to the sclera on both eyes.

        #854228

        Great work so far. Using my IPhone I converted your work into a black and white picture. Forget about the colors for now, and focus more on the values, especially on the left side (ours) of the face and compare with the lighted side and you will see the difference. Also give some values to the sclera on both eyes.

        #854221
        AllisonR
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            Sorry for the late reply, I have been on vacation with minimal internet access.

            Moises – Converted to greyscale I think the values are about right, except for neck and ear on left is too light. Left side of face is generally flat midtones, no shadows. Though if you see something else let me know.

            I agree – it’s not about details, it’s about the shapes of the light and midtone and dark areas. Why is the light where it is? I am thinking natural sunlight on the left moving across his face. Yet the sky will be outer space, so it doesn’t have the same light source, it has different rules. I just hope it works.

            In the final painting the background will not be trees, but a colorful scene from outer space. The values will be consistent with space images, but the colors will be more science fiction. The problem is making these saturated colors recede as a background. And I think I will solve this by making the light areas of the face the lightest areas of the whole painting. I think these light face areas make an interesting shape. So the lightest light in the background will still be darker than the face, which I think will make the face come forward.

            I plan on making the background nothing but glazes over a black and white value layer. So all details in the value layer, then washes of glazes. The boy will be the opposite – thicker layers of paint over only a loose value layer and some dry scumbles. Unfortunately in general glazed areas come forward and scumbled areas recede, however since I am doing everything the opposite of normal I am hoping it will work. Sort of like the way Japanese prints work where the background is full of busy colors and patterns all over and the flesh is very flat and plain and therefore the flesh is actually the focal point because it gives your eyes a rest area.

            This is a crude example of how I am thinking of proceeding.

            Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

            http://www.artallison.com/
            #854222
            AllisonR
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                Stargazing imprimatura wash in vine black. Erased while wet with brushes, baby wipes and mostly fingers. All values are too dark to start with so when dry I will scumble all with white to lighten. 55x95cm

                Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

                http://www.artallison.com/
                #854215
                Gav
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                    Indeed a smooth background would work contrasting with the boy painted using more thickly applied paint.
                    But contrast is the main thing. Keep the boys face light and background dark.
                    You may find the colours of the space background are not as vivid and bright as you think but the strongest colours of the piece are actually in the face and its shadows.
                    Yo could go for echoing the colours in the face of the background to unify the painting, OR you can try and avoid colours crossing over to keep the foreground and background separate

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                    #854217
                    huanghehe
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                        #854223
                        AllisonR
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                            A layer to lighten.

                            titanium + zinc white plus aluminum hydrate (like chalk or marble dust – to make more transparent without using tons of oil medium – I used walnut and as much alum hydrate as it would hold).

                            Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

                            http://www.artallison.com/
                            #854219
                            Anne Roy
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                                Very nice . Does the aluminum hydrate or marble dust make textures on the canvas? It is very interesting. I like it.

                                #854220
                                AllisonR
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                                    Very nice . Does the aluminum hydrate or marble dust make textures on the canvas? It is very interesting. I like it.

                                    Aluminum hydrate makes no texture, it only makes paints more transparent. Titanium white is very opaque, zinc is a little more transparent but not much.

                                    Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

                                    http://www.artallison.com/
                                    #854224
                                    AllisonR
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                                        1st color layer in the boy. My values are way off, left side of face needs to be darker. Flesh tones look too saturated but that will change tremendously when I add the background colors – then suddenly he will look totally dull and washed out.

                                        detail

                                        Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

                                        http://www.artallison.com/
                                        #854225
                                        AllisonR
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                                            Added background. It is obviously no longer a starry night scene. So I need a new title. Looks like tie-dye to me. Suggestions?

                                            Not sure I should leave the overly saturated background. I could drastically lighten and smoke the whole background, make it more like pastels. Or I could put black glazes overall to darken the background even more. Not really sure what I will do. I think it depends on how I paint the next layer of flesh.

                                            Being born places you at a greater risk of dying later in life.

                                            http://www.artallison.com/
                                            #854226
                                            jonc50
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                                                I think the lighter background will emphasize the main subject. Nice progress.

                                                #854216
                                                gaykir
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                                                    Coming along beautifully. Just soften the B/G and you’re golden.

                                                    http://gaylekirbyart.blogspot.com/

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