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January 14, 2018 at 11:40 am #449446
I am working on a group portrait that is practically finished. However, I have a dilemma with the background. The reference photo has the front of the house but if I copy this background it may take away the focal point of the work. The two options are not to do anything or render a blurred background. I have done a short sketch of the copy of the work and added some lines and I placed emphasis on the dark values on our right side in order to have a quasi diagonal aspect to create more punch to it. On purpose, I erased some lines of the background on the left side. I would appreciated some suggestions.
The work was done on a 23X15, Archer paper, and using hard graphite and only HB for the very darks, in order to avoid the shine of the soft graphite.
Thank you for watching.
January 14, 2018 at 11:48 am #545249That portion of the house is rather a busy one. What about leaving out the clutter and add just a suggestion of bricks or shrubbery or something like that?
January 14, 2018 at 5:55 pm #545237Surprisingly- I like the background one. I am usually not a fan, but this gives an enclosed sense of place to the people.
Great portraits!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
January 14, 2018 at 6:20 pm #545238It is your call really, but I feel the background can be helpful compositionally- the vertical and horizontals support the pyramid placements of the family and add a place/architectural context to the portrait. (I trust your perspective will be correct in the final)
Ken Tiessen
www.KenTiessenArt.com
Comments or Critiques welcomed...always!January 14, 2018 at 8:53 pm #545241beautiful…I also like the background one…gives a sense of place and home
but I also like it without the background…
I would be tempted to ask the recipient their preference
January 14, 2018 at 9:59 pm #545240I like background one … it has Arial
Perspective and doesn’t compete with the subjects[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Carol Sometime's failure is the opposite to success~ but sometimes failure can be the pathway to successJanuary 15, 2018 at 12:49 am #545236I like the background. It tells me where they are. Without it, I might think they are in a formal studio setting. The background does not take away from the subject matter.
Quwatha Valentine
January 15, 2018 at 4:25 am #545233Usually I would say: get rid of the background, but it works well the way you did it.:)
Connie
www.connievanwinssen.comJanuary 15, 2018 at 5:45 am #545243That portion of the house is rather a busy one. What about leaving out the clutter and add just a suggestion of bricks or shrubbery or something like that?
Thank you.
January 15, 2018 at 5:48 am #545244Bethany, Maryinasia, Carol, Wassie, Connie:
Thank you all for your input and comments.January 15, 2018 at 5:53 am #545245It is your call really, but I feel the background can be helpful compositionally- the vertical and horizontals support the pyramid placements of the family and add a place/architectural context to the portrait. (I trust your perspective will be correct in the final)
Ken,
Surprisily enough I was telling my wife that we have two piramids in this composition: The children and the dogs, and the other one is the parents! The lines of the background will be rather thin and using only 4H graphite, but I will add more emphasis at the base of the column so the darker values will unify the dog and the girls. BTW, the perspective will be fixed. Thank you.January 15, 2018 at 1:12 pm #545239I think I agree with Ken – but maybe slightly different view: I would included a softer-edged version of the background values to amplify the idea of light on the people.. Mostly vertical grays and dark grays.. imperfectly placed ( but to suit your composition and placement.
Kevin
i draw, paint and teach | my voice is hoarse | my shoulder hurts.
Talent is really a capacity for a certain type of learning of knowledge and a consuming interest in the facts that contribute to that knowledge~ Andrew Loomis
http://www.kevinwuesteart.blogspot.com
"kevinwueste" on instagramJanuary 15, 2018 at 6:02 pm #545242The background would be OK if it is faded into the background of the picture as in your mock-up. Any strong contrast in it will detract from the group. I’d be inclined to leave it without the background and I’m not usually a fan of that sort of structure which i usually think of as a cop out!
An alternative might be some kind of motif which is relevant to the family. A sort of updated coat of arms…..C&C always welcome.
Instagram harry.hamillJanuary 16, 2018 at 5:55 am #545246Kevin, Harry:
Thank you for your comments. One think everybody agrees is to place some kind of background, and very subtle. I appreciated it very much.January 16, 2018 at 4:29 pm #545250 -
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