Shutterbug

  I like the thoughtful expression, the modern watch, the way the right side of her head fades into the dark, and
the fac tthat I didn't get all made up or even comb my hair.  I used to be one of those gals, but I outgrew it. 

I spent the AM playing shutterbug using myself as (disheveled) subject with the single light coming from a window.  This was the first of many shots taken using the timer. It's not my favorite, but the natural lighting is relatively okay and the contrast and clarity is good.  It was about 9:00. I should have taken notes.  Each photo taken from then on needed more adjusting as the natural light kept increasing.  I really could have used a stand-in, but Ellis doesn't like to play shutterbug. 

I decided to use myself because I am accessible. Portraits hold my interest for long periods of painting time. Fleshtones  are always a major concern; it wouldn't hurt me to take some time on them. The Venetian Technique suits portraiture.  The general public probably appreciates the style's realism more than they do my favorite, the more painterly gestural style.  And my family might hold on to this painting after I'm gone, whereas a still life they'd probably let go in the estate sale; I would. ;-))

Here's a couple of more shots that have possibilities, but must be reshot; the sun had risen and with it, glare increased.

Not so natural here. I changed my tank top just to see what a more muted tone would do. Also put on some blusher and shouldn't have. Portrait artist/photographers  need a bit of the stylist in them. I also enhanced the photo and shouldn't have.

.Another shot washed out by too much light. The face of the watch must be visible.  This pose might work better using a lamb in an otherwise darkened room?  It's also very, and maybe too much so, Chuck Close?  I think the watch is an important prop though; it balances the composition. (I wonder why I kept punching myself in the cheek)?


 

After making my decision on subject and spending the morning running around the tripod, it occurred to me that I might just swing the Venetian way. I forgot how much I love photography. And it is a very important skill to have, if portrait painting is a calling.  All of these photos have been sized in proportion to the size of the linen canvas I will be using. 

"A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth." --John Singer Sargent quoted by Robert Genn in his newsletter, "Portrait", on November 3, 2000

That's the truth, but maybe not so much using the Venetian approach and the grid, which "simplifies our drawing process and removes issues of perspective and scale." (Todd Burroughs).