Late Grandmother's Portrait (oils)

[Quicksilver]

As a present for my grandad I'm painting my late grandma's portrait for him (he'll be 93 this year!). I'm attempting oils for the first time sooooo if you've any tips/advice please do sprinkle them this way. :D

Keep in mind that I'm working from a scan of a very old negative which is in black and white as a ref (http://www.cheeb.co.uk/gallery/wip/grandma_ref.jpg). So if the colours are a bit funky, please forgive me and nudge me in the right way. ^_^

This is where I've gotten so far, after 4-5 hours painting:
http://www.cheeb.co.uk/gallery/wip/grandma01.jpg
Soz about the blurriness - I'll whip out the tripod next time. The room I'm working in has blue walls so that would have an effect on the painting too. I'll take it to the landing next time and let the natural light shine through for a better photo (it's 1:21AM now).

First, I did an underpainting in burnt sienna using acrylics to distinguish the tones involved, wash out the white of the canvas and because acrylics dries faster.

I think I need to narrow down her face a tiny bit round the cheeks. Will work into the darker parts of her face after the paint has dried a little. Some of her shoulder and hair has been covered in the bg colour btw - don't think it shows up too well in the photo (same goes for the colours :\ Damn).

Thanks for reading and seein' :) All C&C welcome. Dont worry, I have thick skin. :P

EDIT: Updated pic - taken in natural daylight. The colours are pretty accurate to the painting now.

[JERI]

I actually think the cheeks looks right, I reckon you should make the top of the head more oval as it looks kinda square on the top atm (but that maybe because of the photo was taken on an angle).

It's a pretty challenging portrait that's for sure.

[Quicksilver]

Aah k, will work on that when it dries up a bit. Cheers, JERI. ^_^ And yeah, it was a challenge drawing the face, nevermind painting it, but I'm still up for it. My goal with this piece is to please my dad and grandad as she was a special person to them, so if I can do that then I'll be more than happy.

[AshenWraith]

Seems pretty good so far.

It might help if you posted your ref so we could see how much you've captured his character.

GL

[Quicksilver]

Seems pretty good so far.

It might help if you posted your ref so we could see how much you've captured his character.

GL
Thanks. I've linked the ref in my first post and it's a she. "Grandmother's Portrait".

[entdroid]

That ref is not very easy to read, you have a nice challenge there :P
Comparing your painting to it, the jaw and the forehead should be thinner, and the neck too, and I agree with Jeri that the top of the head is a bit flat.
Apart from that, I think it's coming along very well :)

Cheers!
entdroid

[Cercie]

Hey Naomi!

I'd looked in here before and couldn't think of anything constructive to say, but I've given it some thought. Its a pretty good start, though i'm not sure how good torquoise is for a background color, but i'm sure you know what you're doing. =^)

A good rule of thumb for most faces in a full-front view is from the chin to where the nose breaks into the forehead should be the same distance as the same place on the nose to the top of the hair. In the photo it is nearly equal but in your painting the top of the head in the painting seems a bit low, either because the lower half is a bit too long or you see the top of the canvas as a stopping place, don't be afraid to go all the way to the edge.

Also it might help to do a bit of a quick paintover in photoshop on a copy of your grandmother's photo, up the resolution and to give a better idea of values, smooth out the scratches, it might help you get an idea of where more things are and help you block it out on the canvas. you could also try out some colors real quick before adding it to the canvas.

Just a few ideas, hope this helps.

[sve]

Hey, Naumi. I think eyes of your grandma should be on bigger distance from each other and the distance from the tip of the nose to eyes is shorter, The chin is thinner, more fragile looking, triangle like, and it is same as distance between the nose and mouth. Forehead is taller. Well, anyways I played a bit with image in Photoshop, It is here, if you want to take a look.
http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/Test.jpg
Pay attention to the angle at which your grandma eyes are, it is straight, almost 90 degrees in your image, your grandma's eyes go at certain angle to her nose.

[chaosrocks]

when you are using color look for the subtlies so that skin is not just tan, but pink and blue and purple.

I dunno
chaos

[zoephoenix]

I think her eyes might need to go a little further down on her head... maybe it's just me... or maybe the top of her head needs to be more round.. I'm not sure. The eyes don't look correctly placed to me. Her nose also looks a little flat, as well, and the nostrils are too close together. Keep trying, though. :)

[tatiana]

How did the painting finish up? Were you able to complete it in time for your grandad's birthday? :)

t