Home › Forums › Explore Media › Oil Painting › Vincent
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March 31, 2018 at 1:50 pm #453831
Hello oil painting friends, this is my third portrait painting and the second in oils. I have found an interest in the self portraits by Vincent Van Gogh. I am going to paint some more of them over the following year. I gave myself the challenge of painting portraits for a year. I will say that I don’t want to follow exactly the self portrait of Vincent I want to feel as if I am following his path and brushwork but I also want to live in the modern world and say this is something I want to connect to but not to paint in the same way. I did get some conflicts arising, I had two print offs of the self portrait in my art books but both had different colours, some yellows and blues others were greys and pinks! However at the end of the day I want to paint and learn and already feel I am doing so! oils on canvas 16 x 20 inches. Comments are welcome, thank you Caroline
[URL=http://www.simmillarts.co.uk
http://simmill-arts.blogspot.com/
Success is never found. Failure never fatal. Courage is the only thing.
Winston Churchill.March 31, 2018 at 2:21 pm #594665Caroline: You have done a super job on this – The rendering is excellent and your brush strokes are very “van Goghish” along with your choice of colors –
You should feel good about this – Looking forward to the others over the course of the year –
Hud
March 31, 2018 at 4:17 pm #594659You’ve done a very good job here. I like the minty greens in the flesh tones, which actually goes much further than is the case in the original. The colors used in the clothing prove what can be accomplished by the interplay of warm and cool colors of similar values.
My criticism would be that there are still too many “flat” passages here. Van Gogh’s brushwork is always alive, even in the areas that don’t catch the eye immediately. Take, for example, the left shoulder of the coat (the sitter’s left, closest to the viewer): In the original, the strokes constantly describe form, and somewhat exaggerate form. In your version, this area is flatter and less-well defined. The blackish marks seem arbitrary because they do not indicate the “lows” of the folds.
The hair and beard are more even in your version, but I suppose that even Van Gogh — poor as he was — must have owned a comb and a pair of scissors. But I do miss the large buttons of the original. Very 19th century.
Please understand that these comments come from someone whose own attempts to work in the style of Van Gogh were less successful than yours. I sometimes think that Van Gogh’s art is a conspiracy perpetrated by the paint manufacturers to encourage artists to take up a style which uses lots and lots and LOTS of paint.
March 31, 2018 at 4:50 pm #594663nice job, improve the neck.
March 31, 2018 at 7:29 pm #594662Hi Caroline! Decided to take you up on your offer and drop in and say hello
This is really good – tough and challenging challenge you’ve given yourself. I like that you are not trying to do an exact copy and instill your own style. Excellent job on the skin tones of his face. I love the bold color of his beard – for me, I’d like to see some of the boldness in other parts of the painting.
I don’t do oils, or drop by this forum much – so please – make sure you let us know in the landscape forum when you do another portrait. I am loving where you are going and want to follow along on your journey
April 2, 2018 at 7:13 pm #594650Many thanks Hud, for your encouraging words. I do feel I have achieved a small step forward since my first portrait. It is interesting work. I now have to choose my next Vincent!
Hello JCannon thank you for your comment, it is very helpful to hear how I can make improvements. I will certainly carry on with the Vincent portraits and make sure there is more paint being used so there are less flat areas. I repainted his jacket a few times until I finally wanted to call it a day. But I think the more jackets I paint the more time I will invest in them.
Thank you LazarusE for your comment.
Hi CaliAnn greetings! so nice of you to pop over from the landscape forum. This portrait has been very colourful when Vincent had a yellow face and bright blue jacket! However I liked the idea of using pinks and greys for this work. I will certainly think about being bolder in the future! I will let you know when the next Vincent appears! Thanks for your support.[URL=http://www.simmillarts.co.uk
http://simmill-arts.blogspot.com/
Success is never found. Failure never fatal. Courage is the only thing.
Winston Churchill.April 4, 2018 at 9:21 am #594657Nice job. I have heard that some of his blues were actually purple, and the red was a fugitive color that has disappeared over time. You might consider exploring that in your work.
Everything else being equal, I would rather be in the painting zone.
Website: www.mikesartshack.com
April 5, 2018 at 7:45 am #594651Hi Mike, thank you. I managed to find a list of the colours he used. Cobalt blue, French Ultramarine, Viridean and emerald green. Alizarin/madder lake, Carmine. Chrome yellow and orange, zinc yellow (lemon yellow I believe), red lake, vandyck brown, naples yellow. It can be quite hard to get a good idea of his colours I would need to see the original. I finally decided on the grey blue and pinks though the painting had started out quite a bright cerulean blue!
[URL=http://www.simmillarts.co.uk
http://simmill-arts.blogspot.com/
Success is never found. Failure never fatal. Courage is the only thing.
Winston Churchill.April 6, 2018 at 4:22 pm #594666Yes, if you have not, you need to see an original Vincent. Even the best of reproductions will never be like experiencing an original. Reproduced Photo colors are different, not to mention the impasto.
There is always some learning by copying masters, but I don’t believe we can arrive at their style by copying.April 6, 2018 at 5:56 pm #594655Looking good Caroline. Great that you are venturing into the portraits.
DerekWebsite: www.artderek.com
DEMONSTRATIONS:https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1363787
https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1343600
https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1431363April 7, 2018 at 1:47 am #594656Now you just have to work on the signature….
Nicely done.C&C always welcome.
Instagram harry.hamillApril 7, 2018 at 9:45 am #594660Great job with this Caroline! The movement is wonderful and you really depicted the brushstrokes like Vincent in this one.
Wes
April 9, 2018 at 6:48 pm #594652Hi Boogiechile I have seen some of Vincent’s work but it was a long time ago. One of the best exhibitions I saw was of a Monet exhibition, wow did he put the painting on thickly, you had to stand back to see the final effect, up close it was just a blur!
Many thanks Derek laddie! for the encouragement.
Thanks Harry ….if only! Sad poor Vincent was so short of money during his painting career, he often went hungry after spending his money on paints!
Hello Wes, I kind of like it, yet also can see so much that could be improved upon. Many thanks for your comment.[URL=http://www.simmillarts.co.uk
http://simmill-arts.blogspot.com/
Success is never found. Failure never fatal. Courage is the only thing.
Winston Churchill.April 9, 2018 at 10:01 pm #594664Ah! This is my fav portrait by VanGogh! Thank you for emulating this!
Utmost blessings!
April 12, 2018 at 7:32 pm #594653Many thanks Docpro, it was interesting to paint, though I keep seeing ways to improve it!
[URL=http://www.simmillarts.co.uk
http://simmill-arts.blogspot.com/
Success is never found. Failure never fatal. Courage is the only thing.
Winston Churchill. -
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