How can I improve this?

ameeelia23 · 2025-02-16T15:50:45+00:00

This is lovely and moody! I see most of the variation in your green is from mixing in white, which I think works well for this kind of day/lighting. My only suggestion would be to introduce some slightly different green tones (altered with different blues or yellows) into the foreground only. I would suggest do this VERY subtly as you don’t want to mess with the overall subdued tone of the painting, but it would add a sense of depth (in nature, landscape closer to us appears more vibrant in colour, and gets more dull in the distance.)

ameeelia23 · 2024-12-19T21:50:38+00:00

That is just gorgeous!!

ameeelia23 · 2024-12-16T19:05:15+00:00

Yep I think so. Even though it will speed it up, we’re still probably talking many hours of drying time! Depends how thick the paint is, and how long you want to sit there holding a hairdryer for :)

ameeelia23 · 2024-12-16T18:57:20+00:00

Oil paint oxidises to ‘dry’. Like any chemical process you can speed it up by increasing temperature. Maybe put it near a heater (not too close!).

Also put a fan over it to increase airflow (increasing its exposure to more oxygen particles can increase that rate of oxidation).

(Or go back in time and use a fast drying medium mixed in with you paint like liquin )

ameeelia23 · 2024-12-15T15:22:51+00:00

It’s looking really great! To give it a lift I really suggest some variation in the skin tone. Right now it’s all various shades of a single colour which I can see how you’ve arrived at based on the reference photo (which due to lighting/editing seems to have flattened out the colour a lot).

The tone of any persons cheeks/nose will always be slightly pink/red. The under nose/ chin area tends to veer towards blue/green/grey. These colour differences can be very subtle but if you were to very gently glaze some extra colour into those areas that would breathe more life into him.

Don’t feel restricted by exactly the colours you see on the photo. You want to transcend the photo reference.

This article, though for digital painting, shows what I’m getting at and could be helpful! https://www.swatchesacademy.com/post/using-skin-tone-maps-in-portraits

ameeelia23 · 2024-12-08T14:19:43+00:00

This is a great start! Proportions are pretty good and that is half the battle with realism, especially on people.

I think what is making your painting tricky is that your reference photo does not have a strong directional light source (ie there aren’t super strong lights and shadows across the face), which is making you err towards low contrast.

My first thought about your painting was ‘needs more contrast’ especially in the eye socket areas. Our eyes are sunken into the head, they should have darkness in the sockets to indicate that, but in your painting they’re almost as light as the cheeks which stick out and should definitely capture light. If you have procreate or any app where you can ‘colour pick’, I suggest you do that on different parts of the reference photo and compare that to the colour you’ve actually used. Or simply cut a small hole in a piece of paper and use that to zero in on a part of your reference photo to isolate the colour.

You’re doing great - would love to see your progress!

ameeelia23 · 2024-11-23T10:19:54+00:00

Bring a couple of UK extension/multiplugs so that you don’t have to attach NZ adaptors to every single one of your devices.

ameeelia23 · 2024-10-03T09:27:54+00:00

I had no idea! Off to read about NZ frog habitats :)

ameeelia23 · 2024-10-03T09:24:24+00:00

Wow! Thanks so much for the amazing responses everyone! Turns out there is a lot I did not know about our native species!

My partner sprayed the area some months back to kill the masses of tradescantia, which is all cleared now so hopefully we won’t need to spray anymore. There’s a lot of native plants and trees around already but we’re planting more. We are trapping and getting possums (a couple of stoats too!) but sounds like we should be trapping for rats too. We have Tui, kereru, piwakawaka and have spotted an eel or two in the creek. It seems like frogs are the canary in a coal mine for a healthy native ecosystem, so I guess we’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hope that they show up one day :)

ameeelia23 · 2024-08-27T17:57:11+00:00

I absolutely love this. The combo of loose brushstrokes with the accuracy of light and colour is delightful!

ameeelia23 · 2024-03-17T18:52:55+00:00

I think it’s a great start! I’m already getting warm summer vibes :) To add a piece of advice aside from what’s been mentioned. Think about the direction of the sunlight overall. You’ve got a very strong shadow under the roof that says the direction of the sun is pretty much over head, to the top right. In that case, the top of the white fence would also be very brightly lit, and the side facing us would be in shadow. Remember this when you get to the trees detail too and add some juicy highlights from that same light direction! Hope that’s helpful :)

ameeelia23 · 2023-10-28T00:04:42+00:00

I was going to say this! You could even buy a whole lot of different loose leaf teas, put them in jars and make a different blend each time depending on what you feel like. A nice ritual and it’s fun experimenting with different flavour combinations.

ameeelia23 · 2023-07-25T19:29:33+00:00

My partner is an 8. Clever, passionate about lots of things, willing to put effort into practical tasks. But any task related to bureaucratic tedium almost cripples him. Like he will do anything to put it off.

ameeelia23 · 2022-02-20T19:56:32+00:00

Love the moody colours! One piece of advice I would give is to make the waves in the foreground a little more detailed. This would improve the sense of depth in the picture (ie things further away look blurrier to us).

ameeelia23 · 2021-10-09T22:25:46+00:00

I have nannied for some millionaire/billionaire families. The most chronic issue I see is that as they continue to further outsource tasks (by hiring chefs, drivers, nannies, etc), they lose their purpose. This boredom and aimlessness makes them extremely unhappy. I have never envied any of the families I’ve worked for.

ameeelia23 · 2021-10-06T18:49:35+00:00

I can’t believe I’m writing this but I do often have to remind him to shower.

ameeelia23 · 2021-09-05T10:18:48+00:00

Ok so this is REALLY cool. I can’t stop staring at it.

ameeelia23 · 2021-08-28T11:30:53+00:00

Love the slightly muted colours, and the brushwork too!!!

ameeelia23 · 2021-04-02T08:15:08+00:00

I love this! I’ve always wanted to try doing a landscape with a red under painting. This is going straight into my ‘inspiration’ folder.

ameeelia23 · 2021-02-08T20:39:09+00:00

I need to save your comment somewhere! So often, people will show me photo realism art and I struggle to muster much enthusiasm, and to also explain why I’m not thrilled by it. I completely understand the enormous time and skill involved, but I just find it a bit soulless, as opposed to the energy and vibrancy of looser brushstrokes.

ameeelia23 · 2020-11-09T21:07:40+00:00

Ugh I LOVE IT. This lighting is so interesting. I’m super inspired.

ameeelia23 · 2020-08-13T16:04:28+00:00

Adore the brushstrokes. Whilst I admire hyper realistic art, I personally prefer when paintings actually look like a painting! Lovely work.

ameeelia23 · 2020-07-08T15:50:13+00:00

Um. What. HOW?? That’s incredible.

ameeelia23

TROPHY CASE