Title and Medium
Foreshortening. Acrylic on 16x20" canvas
Artist's Statement
This technique or skill came up once in a sketching class and it seemed like an intriguing painting project. The biggest problem was deciding the difference between perspective (vanishing points) and foreshortening. Apparently they are the same, but perspective seems to be applied more often to landscapes and foreshortening to humans and animals. (My opinion only).
I did submit a landscape with perspective scenery in it, but was not satisfied that it was what Marion intended. Consequently a photo was staged using the "photo-booth" feature of the computer in which a brush is held out to the computer camera, as if measuring for the painting (and I could compose the scene). The person (me) holding the brush appear much smaller than the hand and brush. And that is what I painted.
The background or negative area was all painted the same color. Only the painting on the easel is in the background.
What I'd Do Differently
- Practice some more. The resulting self portrait was an improvement over an earlier attempt in both detail and skin tones, but the total piece is rather immature.
- The need to study anatomy more is evident in the close hand detail.
- Perhaps paint on larger canvases to improve on smaller details, like the knuckles.
- Take the photo (used to make the painting) without wearing the painting smock. I originally thought wearing the smock would make the subject more artistic looking.
- I liked the way the skin tones came out. (Used light portrait pink,unbleached titanium,raw sienna, raw umber.)
Marion Boddy-Evans, Painting Guide, says:
I think this is an ideal choice of subject to study foreshortening, full of interesting challenges. The brush and hand are so much larger in the composition compared to the face, forcing you to study the relative sizes of how things appear compared to the sizes we know they truly are.
You should be pleased with this painting for several reasons, not least tackling what is quite a tricky composition and dealing with it successfully. I think the right hand has got a lovely sense of form and structure, and shadow. I would probably add some of the darker golden skin tones onto the shadow under the arm to link the colors between the hand and forearm more.
I think the left arm/hand is the least successful element. The angle is strange because there's no indication of the forearm resting on a table. The forearm looks a bit long and the hand too short. And the tones too dark for the rest of the painting. I would be tempted to paint it out altogether, as if it were behind your back. Hold up your hand or a piece of paper to block it out, and see what you think.
I would also be tempted to darken the background towards the bottom, to imply light shining from the top of the composition. As was done in this painting backgrounds demo but working vertically rather than horizontally.
