From the Artist: This was a real challenge; I did it in oils, with the Bob Ross wet-on-wet technique. It was done from a photograph taken when I had my granddaughter do a lay up shot while I took the photo from the balcony above the rim. The black on the bottom is the top of the backboard as it appears in the pic. I was not brave enough to attempt to add my granddaughter who would have been on the left with part of her reflection also appearing in the the backboard.
From the Painting Guide: I have a personal preference for abstractions or simplified reality, so I think I'd likely prefer this version of your painting to one with a figure in it. As it is now, I find the painting visually intriguing: the angle at which the subject is seen makes you pause to consider it. I think that with a figure in it you'd loose too much of this initial mystery.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: If one of the supposed rules of composition is not to put the subject slap-bang in the center of a canvas, why does it work in this instance? Partly, I think, it's because the ball itself is off-center, and partly because the background isn't identical on either side.
Adding a Figure, or Not: I'm a great believer in creating another version of a painting when faced with one where it isn't quite right but I'm afraid I'm going to ruin it by continuing, or where I've an idea for an alternate version but aren't entirely convinced it'll work (or I can pull it off successfully). By painting another version, you've got the first to refer to as you create the second and if things go wrong you've still got the original.
So in terms of adding a figure, what I would do is to first do at least one study of the figure as you think you want it to be in this painting, then create a second version of the painting with the figure in it. By first doing it as a study (or several studies), you remove the pressure of having to get it right on a 'real painting'.
From the Painting Guide: I have a personal preference for abstractions or simplified reality, so I think I'd likely prefer this version of your painting to one with a figure in it. As it is now, I find the painting visually intriguing: the angle at which the subject is seen makes you pause to consider it. I think that with a figure in it you'd loose too much of this initial mystery.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: If one of the supposed rules of composition is not to put the subject slap-bang in the center of a canvas, why does it work in this instance? Partly, I think, it's because the ball itself is off-center, and partly because the background isn't identical on either side.
Adding a Figure, or Not: I'm a great believer in creating another version of a painting when faced with one where it isn't quite right but I'm afraid I'm going to ruin it by continuing, or where I've an idea for an alternate version but aren't entirely convinced it'll work (or I can pull it off successfully). By painting another version, you've got the first to refer to as you create the second and if things go wrong you've still got the original.
So in terms of adding a figure, what I would do is to first do at least one study of the figure as you think you want it to be in this painting, then create a second version of the painting with the figure in it. By first doing it as a study (or several studies), you remove the pressure of having to get it right on a 'real painting'.
