Question About a Portrait

[Nancy]

I have a very simple question for all of you. I have a pic I took of a friend's son that I wanted to paint. I have attached the pic below. This is what I was wondering:

A. How many of you would actually paint in the background as is, and
B. How many of you would put a simple gradient color background (if so, what color would you use?).

I'm just wondering.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, it's a fireplace with a screen and a marble wall behind him.

[Cleo]

Hi Nancy,


If the picture was taken in the clients home...I would render the background
in soft focus as it gives them a sense of place and would be recognisable.
If the pic was taken somewhere else I would just put in a suggestion of the floor and background so the subject is not sitting in thin air...
I would rely on the eye gaze of the sitter to give it the punch it needs.
Also you have to be very careful with colored backgrounds that they don't
clash with the sitter ( especially red hair !) and therefore detract from the picture.
I wouldn't use a gradient colour background...but that is just me ... :D
I never do !

Hope someone else has more useful suggestions :)

Hey...you probably win the Arlene prize for sensible questions...for considering the background first :D :D :D

Cleo

[Brenda]

I like the marble and the fireplace screen but I don't like the gold strip coming out of the young man's head. Maybe extend the screen all the way across without the strip.

he's a little cutie!

[Arlene]

Nancy did you take this pic with a flash? it looks it and if it was it's not giving you good shadows and highlights. The face looks flat and as such isn't really the best photo for painting.

I firmly believe they should ban flash's for those using the references for painting.:soapbox:

[Arlene]

here's what i mean

[Denise]

he is a cutie, Nancy! Looks a bit like a boy I know here.....

i like the bg, Brenda's screen suggestion is a good one

if you HAVE to use this photo, maybe to fix the problem Arlene is talking about, you can really push the darks and bring up the highlights so you have a more interesting subject and alieviate(sp?) the flatness.

[Nancy]

Nancy did you take this pic with a flash? it looks it and if it was it's not giving you good shadows and highlights. The face looks flat and as such isn't really the best photo for painting.

I firmly believe they should ban flash's for those using the references for painting.:soapbox:

Actually, no, I didn't use a flash. I hate using them because it distorts the colors. This was taken inside my friend's house during the daytime. I had taken some outside as well, but he ended up squinting because of the sun. My friend is not a client, she just let me use her children as models for a few hours, that's all. I rather prefer doing complicated backgrounds than simple gradient ones, so I was leaning toward using this background.

Brenda, you're right about the gold strip coming out of his head. I would eliminate that from the background. Thanks for pointing it out. I forgot it was there.

As far as the lighting is concerned, it is actually coming from two windows; both are behind him, one on either side. That's probably why you don't see much shading & highlighting on him except for the top and outside part of HIS right shoulder (our left). Again, another thing I didn't notice until now. :rolleyes: Well, I'm still learning.

So, I'm leaning toward including the background, minus the gold strip behind his head. Has anyone ever drawn marble before?

[Arlene]

nancy can you use the shadowing from some of the outdoor pics to shade the child?
the window lighting as you had it would flatten out hte face.

also i agree with brenda, and would add to make sure to straighten out the wall. DON'T draw it angled like that! lol.

[Nancy]

nancy can you use the shadowing from some of the outdoor pics to shade the child?
the window lighting as you had it would flatten out hte face.

also i agree with brenda, and would add to make sure to straighten out the wall. DON'T draw it angled like that! lol.


:D Yeah, I think I'd better straighten out that wall. People might think I was tipsy when I painted it. :p

Yes, Arlene, I can use the lighting and shadowing from the outside pictures to add some depth to the pic. Thanks for the suggestion. :)

And thank you everyone for all of your advice and suggestions!! I really appreciate it!