When I was in high school there was this columnist, Sydney J Harris, who I used to read, and I still remember one of his columns wherein he meets a guy he knew in his youth, and the guy tells Sydney, "Well I see you have made yourself a face." And what the guy meant was young people with their blank unwrinkled faces look a lot alike, but as we age wrinkles and stuff effect us differently, and we don't look so much the same. The guy then proceeded to use it as a metaphor for experience building character in us which is reflected in our faces. I didn't buy into that, but I have always remembered it.
I know that these are not the same woman, but I was struck by how the young girl seems a little amorphous and the older lady has a strong presence. She has an attitude, which I am thinking of as disappointment giving way to defiance.
Not much of an artistic critique but it is what I was thinking.
I like the expression on the second one. Yes, she's younger and has an unmarked face, but there's feeing behind those eyes and you have that. I'm not sure what you meant by too big for the paper--the head fills too much of the frame? Or 11 x 15 is too large for a portrait? Either way, I'm not sure I agree. I like her and the way she also feels like she's deep in thought and we can see that. I'm ambivalent on the turquoise background--on one hand, it might be interesting; on the other, you might ruin the good thing you already have.
Is that a young David Byrne of Talking Heads? I like how both portraits are painted, the hard edges in the first one, and the softness in the second one. Both are very expressive but in different ways. They look like portraits and not paintings of photographs, if you know what I mean….
Supposed to be Cillian Murphy. Grandson said it’s him on Botox. Teacher said doesn’t matter if it looks like person…just don’t paint people you know. Ha ha.
Does she say not to paint people you know because you get caught up in what you know rather than what you're seeing?? It looks to me like the first one is a bit distorted, which can happen when the head is not straight on, nor profile. Have you ever tried to turn the photo you're using as reference upside down and draw/paint it upside down as well? It really does help you to focus on what's happening in terms of space, line, value, etc. and get it down on paper. Rather than putting down what you think should be happening, you put down what you see and the relationships between things. Try it as an experiment to see the difference that approach makes in the outcome.
When I was in high school there was this columnist, Sydney J Harris, who I used to read, and I still remember one of his columns wherein he meets a guy he knew in his youth, and the guy tells Sydney, "Well I see you have made yourself a face." And what the guy meant was young people with their blank unwrinkled faces look a lot alike, but as we age wrinkles and stuff effect us differently, and we don't look so much the same. The guy then proceeded to use it as a metaphor for experience building character in us which is reflected in our faces. I didn't buy into that, but I have always remembered it.
ReplyDeleteI know that these are not the same woman, but I was struck by how the young girl seems a little amorphous and the older lady has a strong presence. She has an attitude, which I am thinking of as disappointment giving way to defiance.
Not much of an artistic critique but it is what I was thinking.
I like the expression on the second one. Yes, she's younger and has an unmarked face, but there's feeing behind those eyes and you have that. I'm not sure what you meant by too big for the paper--the head fills too much of the frame? Or 11 x 15 is too large for a portrait? Either way, I'm not sure I agree. I like her and the way she also feels like she's deep in thought and we can see that. I'm ambivalent on the turquoise background--on one hand, it might be interesting; on the other, you might ruin the good thing you already have.
ReplyDeleteThe first one is a man and a well known one. But I can see there’s ambivalence in the painting.
ReplyDeleteIs that a young David Byrne of Talking Heads? I like how both portraits are painted, the hard edges in the first one, and the softness in the second one. Both are very expressive but in different ways. They look like portraits and not paintings of photographs, if you know what I mean….
ReplyDeleteSupposed to be Cillian Murphy. Grandson said it’s him on Botox. Teacher said doesn’t matter if it looks like person…just don’t paint people you know. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteDoes she say not to paint people you know because you get caught up in what you know rather than what you're seeing?? It looks to me like the first one is a bit distorted, which can happen when the head is not straight on, nor profile. Have you ever tried to turn the photo you're using as reference upside down and draw/paint it upside down as well? It really does help you to focus on what's happening in terms of space, line, value, etc. and get it down on paper. Rather than putting down what you think should be happening, you put down what you see and the relationships between things. Try it as an experiment to see the difference that approach makes in the outcome.
ReplyDelete