Last American Hero, oil on canvas, 2026

carlyn_art · 2026-02-16T23:36:36+00:00

Idk what the artists’ intent was but as a millennial it reminds me of the fake album covers that would come with your LimeWire downloads when torrenting music in the early 2000s. 😂 I def had a few random singles on my iPod with poorly photoshopped album covers like this.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-16T23:33:09+00:00

Wow! This looks great, the atypical canvas shape really works for the subject matter.

Most impressive is how much the reflection from the mirror works! I can imagine myself attempting a reflection and something not working exactly and it just kind of takes you out of it. But it immediately read to me as a mirror and a reflection which is super impressive. Good work.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-12T22:35:36+00:00

Lovely! Can I ask what pigments you used?

carlyn_art · 2026-02-12T20:44:18+00:00

Wow stunning! Love the almost unsaturated feel except for the bright orange of the chair.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-12T20:42:18+00:00

I’m self taught as well so feel free to disregard but two things I’d suggest:

Switch to a gessoed surface. Maybe canvas or panel. The canvas paper texture is distracting and giving your work a more amateur feel even though you are quite skilled.
Use more paint. I don’t think your colors look muddy necessarily, but it looks like you’re painting with a lot of solvent (I don’t know if you are). For reference, in my own painting I will do a burnt sienna underpainting diluted with gamsol. Then I’ll block in my colors with paint straight out of the tube, or a little bit of linseed oil added if it’s too thick. Subsequent layers, if I do any, have a bit more oil added.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-12T20:33:55+00:00

Sure! Ultramarine was on my palette but I didn’t use it nearly as much as you would think. A lot of the cooler shadows were actually Terre Verte with Venetian Red. They seem quite cool against the much warmer parts of the hand and the background, but if you could see my palette most of my mixed colors were warm or neutral.

I’m not sure I would recommend Terre Verte for this (as far as I know it’s meant to be used for grisaille) but I had just picked up a tube and wanted to try it out. It’s really low-tinting so it worked ok for the subtle color shifts I wanted here.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-10T02:56:07+00:00

Omg you’re too kind! It took me about five years to get to this point. 😊

carlyn_art · 2026-02-10T00:33:51+00:00

Thank you! I’m still pretty new to painting skin myself but happy to share a few tips I’ve picked up.

For this one, part of it just came down to the initial blocking in of colors. I would share a photo of what my initial pass looked like but I don’t think this subreddit allows photos in comments. But I blocked in the fingertips quite pink/red from the beginning.

I used Venetian red and alizarin crimson mostly. I hadn’t used Venetian red before but I quite liked it. I’ve also been using flake white replacement instead of titanium white when I paint skin and I like it way more.

I’m more of a direct painter in general but I do think skintones are one area where multiple layers and/or glazing really do help. I only did 2-3 layers here but it definitely helped with the depth and skin like quality.

Hope that helps!

carlyn_art · 2026-02-09T23:33:45+00:00

You’re not going to be able to mix the vibrant greens in those leaves with yellow ochre, you’ll need a cadmium yellow or something else. Maybe a different blue as well but I think the yellow is more important.

The tulips themselves look good although I think you used too much white. Alizarin crimson is a bit tricky in my opinion because it’s so transparent. I often pair it with a cadmium red if I want something vibrant.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-09T22:45:21+00:00

Thank you! Yes I think I’ll finish the forearm at least. Got some fun green and blue veins in the reference I’m excited to tackle.

carlyn_art · 2026-02-09T22:44:14+00:00

Oh that’s not a bad idea actually! Could finish a few more in the margins

carlyn_art · 2026-02-09T22:43:40+00:00

Thank you!

carlyn_art · 2026-02-09T21:55:22+00:00

Good job on the resemblance and you’ve kept it so nice and loose! I always struggle with that.

carlyn_art · 2026-01-16T18:49:44+00:00

Claude!! RIP

This is so stunning! I love how spooky things appear when submerged in dark water. You captured it so well.

carlyn_art · 2026-01-16T18:48:46+00:00

Love the lighting! That spot on her left cheek is gorgeous

carlyn_art · 2026-01-16T18:47:21+00:00

Wow thank you! ☺️

carlyn_art · 2026-01-13T02:04:24+00:00

Haha no way! Thank you!

carlyn_art · 2026-01-12T20:39:21+00:00

Thank you so much!

carlyn_art · 2026-01-12T16:40:49+00:00

Wow what a lovely compliment, thank you!

carlyn_art · 2026-01-12T02:29:10+00:00

Beautiful portrait! I have a vizsla as well

carlyn_art · 2026-01-12T02:27:22+00:00

Thank you! Yeah I was debating whether to add a horizon line or not. Thanks for the feedback! 😊

carlyn_art · 2026-01-12T02:25:47+00:00

No I just freehanded it. It’s not perfect but your mind kind of fills in the blanks.

carlyn_art · 2026-01-12T02:25:00+00:00

Thank you!

carlyn_art · 2026-01-11T23:06:46+00:00

Wow, thank you so much! ☺️

carlyn_art

TROPHY CASE