I did this self-portrait in oil - Do you have any tips?
3yr
If I could express my joy over this painting in backflips, then I would be doing a quadruple! I'm really proud of it :)
I've been oil painting since June and with this piece being my best yet, I'd like to submit for critique and tips.
This sketch took me roughly 5 hours. I can tell many of it's flaws, like proportion and that parts are unfinished (I ran out of time). I'm less concerned about the "drawing" part and more about the painting part; about values, edges, color, the painting process, obvious painting mistakes, brushmanship etc.
I studied Alla Prima II intently this spring and have been practicing my oil painting through small sketches this summer, but never had anyone look at my work.
I've previously attempted self-portraits, but with this one I got a break through. 2 hours in I felt like I was starting to destroy it (I was very happy with the start). This is a point I've hit before. This time, instead of continuing I took a short brake and thought about it, and I noticed that I wasn't really copying the shapes; I had done so for the major shapes, but not the smaller, because analzying them requires a great deal of effort. But now I pushed through, trying to disciplin myself to analyze more carefully. And suddenly I saw more then I have ever seen before, and I grasped better then ever how to brake the face down into brush strokes!
I attached some other sketches aswell, though I don't expect you to critique them all, just as a help in finding out my bad habits and weaknesses. And for fun :)
Thanks in advance!
Keep your light values very closely grouped the same way you did with the roof of the shed study you posted. Try not to overanalyze every little bump until the very very end of the painting. How do you know when to add those small details? When you feel you could post the painting online without adding them.
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3yr
Thank you @Tyler kp! So if I've understood it right; connecting the lights into a clear group and making sure that you have that before adding smaller variations within the lights. I did a quick digital overlay to see if I've understood the concept. I'll keep it in mind next time I paint. Thanks for the critique :)
Always find the most obvious and easy color to identify the value, chroma and hue. Richard emphasizes this in APII. Anytime painting like that can get out of control from the start without taking some time to pick out the obvious stuff that you can get right, right away.basically any extreme, high or low. Then it gives you some control and can compare. I 100% see the likeness and the values of your portrait look very believable as well. Really good stuff 👍🏼
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3yr
Thank you! Yes I remember having read that now, thanks for reminding me :)
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3yr
Size: It's the length of my hand (From the bottom of that grey rectangle (which was a color test) to the top of the hair)
Hey. I've been painting in oils for 20+ years and thought I might be able to help. Here's some feedback: your blocking of light and dark is pretty good, but adding in a few harder edges will help create a more dynamic painting - most people struggle with soft edges so congrats on nailing that one!!!
Pay attention to the larger shapes - for example the top of your hair has a bit of a part - put that in. The negative space shape with regards to the outside outline of your head will help give some more character to you - right now it looks a touch flat, but the rounded contour shapes will give you a much more 'real' look. It would be very easy to tackle some of that after the fact. "Cutting in" with slow, strong and confident brushstrokes from the background and into the head shape will give your painting much more clarity.
I hope this helps. It's a great start and I like your use of colours for approaching a self-portrait!!! It's got great temperature range without a lot of confusion from too many colours. I also like that you have kept the values to mid and high without complicating the shadows.
Cheers!
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3yr
And here's the photo with lower brightness to better match what I saw, and the photo of the painting with increased brightness and saturation to better match the colors in the real painting
