A Quiet Read - WIP

[MurrayG]

Hi Folks, a WIP as I can see many small corrections and some lighting is off. It's been a frustrating painting. This is the second attempt, the first was "binned". I'm not happy with it even now, but it is starting to come together, even if I see glaring errors...... I intend to leave the hand and forearm "unrendered" so as to retain focus. From a very badly lit photo, mostly Rembrandts and some Sennelier on Canson MT smooth side, 32x41 cm paper. The photo here is not really balanced, so I hope you get the idea. However, I would appreciate constructive comments. Thanks all.

 

[Jo Castillo]

Lovely to me.

 

[MurrayG]

Lovely to me.

Thanks Joe.

 

[Enyaw]

Love everything about it. Beautiful work Murray.

 

[ZenDruid]

The eye goes straight to her face, without any distraction. You could clean up the edges around her hand, that would not take attention away from her face. Nice painting!

 

[MurrayG]

Love everything about it. Beautiful work Murray.

Thanks Wayne, really appreciate your thoughts.

 

[MurrayG]

The eye goes straight to her face, without any distraction. You could clean up the edges around her hand, that would not take attention away from her face. Nice painting!

Thanks Zen, yes, there are a few edges that need defining, and the more I look, some postural corrections,..... a few shadows and highlights as well.... Thanks for your input, much appreciated.

 

[Donna T]

This is really nice, Murray! I know you see all kinds of things that you wish were different but I see a beautiful girl who is lost in a good book.

 

[MurrayG]

This is really nice, Murray! I know you see all kinds of things that you wish were different but I see a beautiful girl who is lost in a good book.

Thanks Donna for the compliment. I guess I'm more critical as it's my stepdaughter, the likeness is pretty good... but....

 

[MurrayG]

I guess I am learning that the size of a painting matters, especially with portraits. With a 30x40cm paper, depending on the scale, the width of a stroke/line can equal 3-5 mm so detail gets tricky. With landscapes I can work with it, but for portraits with a sense of "realism" even if its an impression - detail and proportion are real considerations - unless of course you are going for "character portayal". I admit I am a learnatic, but it gets frustrating

 

[ams]

This is beautiful. I love her expression and the light focusing our attention on her face.

 

[MurrayG]

This is beautiful. I love her expression and the light focusing our attention on her face.

Thank you Anne for the encouragement

 

[Terri]

I think this is lovely! The light and shadows are just right. Wonderful.

 

[MurrayG]

I think this is lovely! The light and shadows are just right. Wonderful.

Thanks Terri

 

[snoball]

Beautiful job. The only thing that "bugs" me is the wrist holding the book. To me it needs a bit more shadow right behind the book. My eyes keep going back to that.

 

[MurrayG]

Hi Folks, I have made a few small adjustments. The photo is not true as you can see from the mask. I may have minor tinkers but I am running out... I think.

 

[MurrayG]

Beautiful job. The only thing that "bugs" me is the wrist holding the book. To me it needs a bit more shadow right behind the book. My eyes keep going back to that.

Hi Sno, thanks, yes I see what you mean, I did address that a little, but maybe more fixes needed

 

[Schuee]

Excellent!

 

[MurrayG]

Excellent!

Thank you Penny.

 

[Artyczar]

This is really incredible and so well done!