From the Artist: Using a drawing from a life drawing class I produced this painting in burnt sienna and titanium white only.
From the Painting Guide: I think this is a really beautiful life painting, a celebration of the beauty of the human body. You've created glorious skin tones, and I love the way her hair blends into what she's lying on, creating the feeling that's she's lying on a blanket of her own hair.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Skin Tones: Just look at the range of skin tones that have been produced with only two colors, and what a strong feeling of flesh has been created. It's a great example of how less is so often more in a painting, of how one of the 'secrets' to produce beautiful skin tones is observing and conveying of tone well.
Look at how form (the feeling of a 3D body) is created through the use of tone and the direction of the brushmarks. How the tones are hatched (blended) into one another so there's a transition between tones rather than sharply outlined areas of tone.
Pencil Marks in a Painting: Whether or not to let the pencil from your initial drawing show in a painting is a matter of personal preference. Look at the upper edge of the figure and think about whether you would've painted over the pencil edge, or not. (Alternative ways of dealing with it once you've finished the drawing are to take an eraser to lighten it, or to paint over with whatever your base color will be to knock it back somewhat.)
As it is, the pencil provides a definite, dark edge to the figure, preventing it from dissolving into the background. I like it myself, and it fits in with the way shadows have been done in other sections of the painting, for instance on the edge of the arm.
From the Painting Guide: I think this is a really beautiful life painting, a celebration of the beauty of the human body. You've created glorious skin tones, and I love the way her hair blends into what she's lying on, creating the feeling that's she's lying on a blanket of her own hair.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Skin Tones: Just look at the range of skin tones that have been produced with only two colors, and what a strong feeling of flesh has been created. It's a great example of how less is so often more in a painting, of how one of the 'secrets' to produce beautiful skin tones is observing and conveying of tone well.
Look at how form (the feeling of a 3D body) is created through the use of tone and the direction of the brushmarks. How the tones are hatched (blended) into one another so there's a transition between tones rather than sharply outlined areas of tone.
Pencil Marks in a Painting: Whether or not to let the pencil from your initial drawing show in a painting is a matter of personal preference. Look at the upper edge of the figure and think about whether you would've painted over the pencil edge, or not. (Alternative ways of dealing with it once you've finished the drawing are to take an eraser to lighten it, or to paint over with whatever your base color will be to knock it back somewhat.)
As it is, the pencil provides a definite, dark edge to the figure, preventing it from dissolving into the background. I like it myself, and it fits in with the way shadows have been done in other sections of the painting, for instance on the edge of the arm.