FIGHTING DARKNESS

[Pansophic]

MY IMAGE(S):



GENERAL INFORMATION:
Title: FIGHTING DARKNESS
Year Created: 2003
Medium: Oil
Surface: Canvas
Dimension: 14
Allow digital alterations?: Yes!

MY COMMENTS:
Any help would be useful, as this is one of my first attempts in painting.

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
I was having a bit of trouble with the detail on the demons, any suggestions?

[madster]

The demons look fine as shadowy shapes, it lends imagination to the viewer.

Of far more concern is the rest of the composition. The face in the upper left corner is too close to the edges. Should this piece be worth keeping and displaying, you could not frame it properly without ruining it. You should always try to have about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch border on your pieces as room for framing. Paint it, just don't put any details there.

Next is the nude figure. The anatomy isn't bad, but the lower legs need work. Your biggest concern here is the light source. You show a light source emanating from her left armpit and another below her bent left shin... Is that your intention? What is the source of the glow from behind her? Next, why is she floating around like that? Is she supposed to be standing on something?

Did you do any preliminary sketches before starting this piece? What is your intended scene here? Where IS your light source? What is the purpose of the head in the corner? It's not looking at the rest of the picture, and too much is cut off to give it any character...

This piece really needs a lot of work to approach any kind of completeness, but it is an interesting study piece if nothing else. You should try roughing out a composition of what you intend to create, including mood, main compositional elements, light sources and color schemes before starting, so as to save a lot of painting over.

[Diane Cutter]

I find this an interesting piece. I like your color palette and the sense of the demons with the reds and oranges.

Madster is correct in that if you frame a painting you lose part of the edge. Although we often place things dramatically going off the picture plane, we need to leave enough to make a complete statement. You would lose part of the eye of the mask after framing.

I think your demons are fine, especially since they are backlit by the female figure/fire/light. In fact, they draw the eyes to look at the female figure, so she becomes more important. I would work on deciding how much detail you want for her.

Is she in a fire? a mist? a blaze of light? At the moment that is unclear.

Also I find the mask a little disturbing. In addition to the positioning too close to the edge, I feel the eyes and mouth are too white. I would tone down the whiteness with some of your yellows or browns. And as it sits now, the mask doesn't do anything for the painting. I feel it should either be taken out or have a companion mask on the right of the painting midpoint. As a viewer, I don't know what you are trying to tell me with the mask.

I'll be interested in seeing what you do with the figure. Please post again when you have changes.

Diane

[henrik]

What disturbes me most (except from the nightmare itself) is that all shapes are separate - there is no overlap and thus it is very difficult to understand where the figures are in 3d space. The result comes across as flat.

The lightsource is also confusing. What could cause that light. Well it is a dream scene (I hope) so anything should really go, but even in a dream some 'inner logic' must apply. Light still causes shadows etc. (unless it is an even weirder dream).

Attached is an image where I tried to create overlap an interaction between the shapes/figures.

[henrik]

I understand that the photo is likely to be off from the original, but I find the starkness of the central figure a bit disturbing, it is not well connected with the rest of the design - it looks a bit pasted on.

In this attachement I modified the value and contrast of the figure to look backlit and more silouethed. That also makes it possible to get away with less defined features on the face and body.

I think this works much better as all is now integrated into one scene.

Try to first do a simple composition with just a handful of the major shapes/forms in your design. Then do a value sketch. Make them small just 3x2 inches or so and do as many as you need until you find the right composition and values.

My edits are very rough, and this piece could be taken many more levels towards "realism" if you want to.

[Pansophic]

Thanks to all who have been so nice to give me advice- much of it I am using and reworking the project, I am finding- it does make more sense and feels more put together or organized. Thanks again.