Friday, December 05, 2008

Allison

I had to repaint much of this today after looking at it for a long time and finally realizing where I had gone wrong. Sometimes it takes a lot of looking to really see where the problem lies!

I neutralized the background and lowered the shoulders a bit to give a more elegant appearance to the portrait.

Adding the necklace was fun! You can really go wrong with jewellery if you try to paint it with a lot of detail, just a few fine strokes and a couple of highlights and you are done. Examining some of Sargent's work in this regard is always illuminating.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Laurel,
You did a great job on this portrait. You are right it also takes me ages to really look at a painting to finally know what is wrong with it.
I missed you at the 'Miracle of the Portrait'. It was also really illuminating watching those pros paint.
Sally

Laurel Alanna McBrine said...

Hi Sally!

We left town early to visit family in B.C. and Arizona, so I could not attend this year.

I really wish I could have seen Dan demonstrate his painting method - he has drawn in previous years. Did you take any notes on his demo?

Unknown said...

Laurel,What a beautiful portrait.I would like to follow you on blogger, but could not find a follow button. I would like to have you become a follower to my blog, http://artworksbydiane.blogspot.com
I hope to stay in touch. DianeRadack

Laurel Alanna McBrine said...

Thanks, Diane for your kind comment. I have been taught the bare minimum to function technologically by my tech support (my 14 year old son, who designs websites) but I am swamped right now. I will try to find time in the near future to figure out the "follower" function.

All the best,
Laurel

Anonymous said...

Hi Laurel,
Yes i did take notes on his demo. I will try to remember to bring them with me to show you next time I come to the portrait society workshop in June.Hope to see you then.
Sally

Cindy said...

WELL, I LIKE THIS ONE TOO. NOT THAT MY UNPROFESSIONAL OPINION COUNTS DIDLY SQUAT!